Yuen Long District


Yuen Long District is one of the districts of Hong Kong. Located in the northwest of the New Territories, it had a population of 449,070 in 2001.

Geography

Yuen Long District contains the largest alluvial plain in Hong Kong, the Yuen Long-Kam Tin plain. With an area of 144 km², the district covers many traditional villages including Ping Shan Heung, Ha Tsuen Heung, Kam Tin Heung, Pat Heung, San Tin Heung and Shap Pat Heung, as well as Yuen Long Town and Tin Shui Wai.
Two new towns have been developed within this district. Yuen Long New Town was developed from the traditional market town of Yuen Long Town from the late 1970s. Tin Shui Wai New Town has developed since the early 1990s, and is built on land reclaimed from former fish ponds once common in the district.

History

Since the Tang Dynasty, the Tang's clan has been living in Pat Heung. Like Tai Po, Yuen Long used to be a traditional market town.

Culture

Special festivals

The Tin Hau Festival is on the 23rd of the third month of the lunar calendar. It celebrates the birth of a local deity, Tin Hau. During the day, residents from various walled villages set off at Fung Cheung Road, go via Kau Yuk Road and the Yuen Long Stadium, and end at Tai Shu Ha Tin Hau Temple, which has a 300-year history.

Cuisine

Hong Kong Wetland Park

is located at the northern part of Tin Shui Wai. It was intended to be an ecological mitigation area for the wetlands lost due to Tin Shui Wai New Town development. In 1998, a project named as "International Wetland Park and Visitor Centre Feasibility Study" was initiated by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the Hong Kong Tourism Board with a view to expanding the EMA to a wetland ecotourism attraction. After concluding that it was feasible to develop a wetland park at the EMA site without compromising its intended ecological mitigation functions and the development of the Wetland Park will also enhance the ecological function of the EMA to a world-class conservation, education and tourism facility, the concerned parties started the Wetland Park Project, which is regarded as one of the Millennium projects by the Administrations.

Kat Hing Wai

Kat Hing Wai in Kam Tin is one of the District's best-known walled villages. It is the ancestral home of the Tangs, one of the "Five Great Clans" in the territory. Built by the Tangs 500 years ago, it is a rectangular walled village with an area of 100 metres by 90 metres. As a family stronghold, Kat Hing Wai has served the Tangs well through centuries. In the Qing Dynasty, a five-metre high blue brick wall and four cannon towers were added to defend bandits.
Route: West Rail Line Kam Sheung Road Station or KMB routes 54, 64K and 77K

Nam Sang Wai

covers a roughly triangular area. It is bordered by the Shan Pui River in the west, separating it from Yuen Long Industrial Estate, the Kam Tin River in the east and a branch of the Kam Tin River in the south. It is home to many birds, including seagulls, Northern Pintails, Yellow-nib Ducks and Black-faced Spoonbills. Flora includes reeds and mangroves.

Mai Po Marshes

is located in the centre of the wetland and has achieved international significance as a stopping and feeding place for migratory birds along the East Asian-Australian Flyway. The birdwatching season runs from October to May and more than 300 types of birds have been recorded in the area, many of them are rarely seen anywhere outside the region.
Visitors may go to Mai Po by the following ways:
On 30 Jan 2004, the Government suspended public visits to the Mai Po wetland reserve as a supposed measure to protect people from avian flu.

Ping Shan Heritage Trail

, inaugurated on 12 December 1993, was designed to link several historic buildings and monuments owned by the Tang clan in Ping Shan by a 1 km trail.
Route: LRT Ping Shan Stop, Hang Mei Tsuen Stop or West Rail Line Tin Shui Wai Station

Tai Fu Tai

in San Tin was probably built in 1865 in the reign of the Qing Dynasty. It is a richly embellished residence situated on a spacious ground, with a large open space in the front and a garden at the back. The whole compound is surrounded by a green-brick wall. It is a fine example of traditional Chinese dwellings of the scholar-gentry class and is certainly one of the most elegant buildings throughout the territory.
Route: KMB Bus 76K to San Tin

Tai Lam Country Park

sits in the western New Territories with an area of 54 km². Tai Lam has a small area of porphyry in the northeast; for the remaining area, it is composed of highly erodible decomposed granite. In 1952, afforestation started as a measure to protect the water catchment area. In spite of the poor soil conditions and the setbacks of fire damage over the years, mature stands of Acacia confusa, Lophostemon confertus, Pinus massoniana, Pinus elliottii and Eucalyptus species now cover most of the area. In addition, the plantations also offer a good habitat for birds, pangolins, Chinese leopard cat, and barking deer. Nevertheless, Tai Lam is an excellent place for outdoor activities because of its remoteness.

Yuen Long Park

is a park at Yuen Long Town with recreational facilities. There is a 7-storey pagoda enclosing an aviary, which has become a landmark of Yuen Long.
Route: LRT Shui Pin Wai Stop, LWB bus E34 or KMB Bus 68X, 268B, 268C, 268X, 269D, 276, 276P, B1,68E

Leisure and cultural facilities

Located in the northwest of the New Territories, Yuen Long has a well-developed public transport network. It is easily accessible from different parts of Hong Kong by bus, mini-bus or railway.
The Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor bridge is the fourth cross-border route between Hong Kong and mainland China. It was completed and opened in 2007, and is 5.5 km long. It starts at Ngau Hom Shek, located at the northwest of Yuen Long, and ends in Shekou, a harbour port located in Shenzhen.

Statistical information

Footnotes