Day 1: Tin Shui Wai > Lau Fau Shan > Ping Shan (Trip start!)

It was the first time to meet my team.  Almost all of them are from Penn State University.  I was looking forward a wonderful study time with them. 

Wetland

We started our trip sharply at Tin Shui Wai station. Our first destination was Wetland Park. Tin Shui Wai is a fish pond area with lots wetlands before development. Since development of Tin Shui Wai, some wetlands are lost. Wetland Park aim to become an ecological mitigation area to compensate lost of wetlands by town development. Hong Kong government consider benefit and profit of a development project, and it is no exemption to Wetland Park. The government would like to develop Wetland Park as a WORLD-CLASS wetland ecotourism attraction point. I doubt that how to attract both nature animals and WORLD-CLASS tourists to such small park? We are different to Taman Kinabalu in Malaysia with area over 700 km sq. Lucky, Wetland Park is not a hit tourist spot till now, so it is still an option as a living place for nature local animals.

The wetland is so nice.

A crocodile in cage.

 The crocodile photo that I take is not clear,
so I downloaded this photo from internet

Human damaged the wetland to built their new home, and built
a cage for original aborigine, crocodile, as their new home. 

Public Housing

Hong Kong is a small place with population 7 millions.  It is the top 3 high density living place in the world.  Tin Shu Wai Development project intend to build a new living area to solve the housing problem in Hong Kong.  

We had chance to visit inside of a public housing estate.  The interior actually looks not bad and environment is clean. There are quite many leisure facilities in the estate, ping pong table, children playground etc.

Lift lobby in public housing

Clean corridor in pubic housing

Leisure space

Public ping pong table

Children playground

Not every Hong Kong residence can get a public housing.  Government has requirements of income and asset of public housing applicant.  For example a 3 persons family, their total monthly income and asset are limited to HK$21,050 (US$2,700) and HK$417,000 (US$53,500) respectively for apply a public house.  The rental of public housing is approx HK$1k to HK$5k per month for a approx. 300sqft to 500sqft permises.  The same quality private housing estate with similar location at Tin Shu Wai require HK$3m to HK$4m.  There are so many Hong Kong people can not meet the requirement of apply public housing and can not afford to buy a private housing.  

There are quite many society problem in Tin Shui Wai's.  Drug abuse, vagrants, joblessness, family violent etc.  Some people said the society is too far to the town and it do not have commercial activities, said offices.  Tin Shu Wai only develop residential buildings as some people said the government made an agreement with a private developer for no commercial/economic development at this area to protect their private property projects in future.  I'm actually not really agreed this reason.  In other countries, there are so many people take over an hour to their work place everyday.  For example London's properties are very expensive, people live at areas outside London and take 1-3hrs (single trip) to work everyday.  Another example people work at Abu Dhabi, but they prefer live at Dubai and take 2hrs (single trip) to work everyday.  It is because Dubai provide better living environment.  Living place away business area take long time travel, on the other side the living environment is better.  The reason for Tin Shui Wai's social problem is public housing mainly for low income family.  Also, Tin Shui Wai has new immigrants, they have many problems on adopt a new place.

It is easy to find social service center in Tin Shu Wai.

Last time when I visited Tin Shui Wai, I was a primary school student.  The new Tin Shui Wai town was just developed at the moment.  I only knew it is a district for public housing.  Nowadays, when I visited it again, I found the environment is quite comfortable compare to the towns in Kowloon and HK Island.  The roads are wider, people density is lower, all buildings are new, sufficient facilities.  

Tidy and clean environment planning.

Wide road with nice palm trees.

Comfortable river side with cycling path.

Light Rail Transit go through most areas at West New Territories.

Village House in Lau Fau Shan

After visit public housing estate, we walk to Lau Fau Shan and visit the village houses in Lau Fau Shan where at south of Tin Shu Wai.   

The policy of village houses in Hong Kong is that male villagers are entitled a rights to build one village house in their village after 18 years old.  In Hong Kong that such high population density city with serious lack of housing problem, male villagers are benefited to have advantage on build a house.

Village houses are always close to each others,
so the relationship of the villagers are very close.

Village house are very close, so the ventilation is not ideal. 

Male villagers have rights to sell their village house and the profit is very high.  Some of them built a sequence of luxury houses to get higher profit.  There are lots ordinance problems about handover of village house from villagers to non-villagers.

Luxury houses for sell. 

Unauthorized building works are serious problem in village houses.  Four years ago, government insisted to remove unauthorized building works.  The action effectively removed many unauthorized building works and educated people for serious of this problem.  Even the action helped, there are still many unauthorized building works didn't be removed especially in villages.

You can easily find unauthorized building works in villages.

We had lunch at Lau Fau Shan and take a bus to Ping Shan Heritage Trails.

Ping Shan Heritage Trail
Ping Shan Heritage Trail connected the heritages in Ping Shan to introduce the history and culture of Ping Shan village and Tang Clan.  We started with Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery cum Heritage Trail Visitor Center.  This visitor center is renovated from a police station.  It is a nice white building with many rooms to exhibit Ping Shan villager's traditional materials.  This visitor center located at the peak of mountain where can overlook Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long area.

  

Path of Ping Shan Heritage Trail

Heritage Trail Visitor Center

Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery

View from visitor center to overlook Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long

There are different types of temples for particular gods. For example Hung Shin Temple is for god of the sea.  Fishermen in Ping Shan village will have worship in Hung Shin Temple to pray for safety work in sea.  There are many ancestry temples for their later generation worship.  The government and villagers keep the heritage very well.  The paintings, decorations, structures are in good conditions.

Hung Shing Temple for god of sea.

The doors have very nice painting and decoration.

These are window partitions at upper floor. 

Ancestry temple.

Temple for god of son.

Doors in village are always have greeting and gods. 

Ching Shu Hin a impressive building for me in this Ping Shan Heritage Trail.  Ching Shu Hin was a hotel with luxury decoration.  Those decorations are not traditional Chinese style.  It mixed western style.

The arched door decoration and colours are mixed western style.

The door frame and woodcut are mixed western style.

The woodcut are not tradition Chinese style.

I love Chinese courtyard.  It just like a garden in a house and it is "in" the house, not outside the house.  It always at the center of house.  It provide a good leisure place to enjoy the sunshine and greenery in house.

The window at courtyard. 

The window frame looks like a picture frame
that framed a picture of courtyard.

The last heritage building is Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda.  It is a Fung Shui tower for Tang Clan.  The original pagoda has seven floors.  Due to erosion by the weather, it's now only has three floors.

  

Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda

Hong Kong has lots valuable natural environment and heritage.  They have their stories and meaningful to local people.  It is worth to keep those or revitalize them.