Hannah-papa Blog: Ping Shan Heritage Trail

I had booked tickets for a Sunday afternoon concert in Yuen Long in the north western New Territories. So we decided to make a day of it and explore the nearby Ping Shan Heritage Trail (link). Like the Kam Ting heritage trail which we visited in Oct 2013 (blog link), the Ping Shan trail connects historic places connected with the Tang Clan.

"Ping Shan in the Yuen Long district is one of Hong Kong’s most historically significant areas and the Tang Clan is one of the major clans in the New Territories who has a long and illustrious history. Tang Hon-fat, the 86th generation ancestor, moved from Jiangxi Province to Guangdong Province in the early period of the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127).... " (antiquities and monuments office link)

"During the middle period of the Northern Song dynasty... the great grandson of Tang Hon-fat, expanded his ancestors’ home in Shum Tin (present-day Kam Tin).... The 7th generation ancestor, Tang Yuen-ching... moved from Kam Tin to Ping Shan in the 12th century. Tang Yuen-ching is regarded as the first generation ancestor of the Ping Shan lineage."

To get to the trail, we took a taxi from FoTan along Route 9 through Tai Po and Sheng Shui to Yuen Long. As you can see on the map above, Route 9 passes about 2km from the border with Shenzhen, a city of about 15 million people. "one of the most built-up areas in the world... the city has 23 buildings over 200 m (656 ft)," (wiki link) But amazingly, due to the pollution and haze, we couldn't see it at all! We could taste it and feel it though as we drove past - a metallic taste and an itchy sensation in the eyes!

Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda

The trail starts very near the Tin Shui Wai MTR station, a massive futuristic tube looming above what were once rural fields. The starting point is Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda (Pagoda of Gathering Stars), Hong Kongs only ancient pagoda, believed to have been built in 1486.

"According to the Tang clan the pagoda was originally situated at the mouth of a river facing Deep Bay. It was intended as a fengshui structure designed to ward-off evil spirits from the north and prevent flooding. The auspicious location in alignment with Castle Peak, would endure success for clan members in Imperial Civil Service Examinations. In fact the Tang clan produced numerous scholars and officials in dynastic China. "

Shrine of Earth God - detail

The next stop is a shrine to the Earth God to protect the nearby villages and homes. "After settling in Ping Shan, the Tang Clan established “Three Wais (walled villages) and Six Tsuens (villages)” - Sheung Cheung Wai, Kiu Tau Wai and Fui Sha Wai, and Hang Tau Tsuen, Hang Mei Tsuen, Tong Fong Tsuen, San Tsuen, San Hei Tsuen and Hung Uk Tsuen. They later built numerous traditional Chinese buildings such as ancestral halls, temples, study halls and pagoda for ancestral worship and education."

Sheung Cheung Wai gatehouse

The next stop is Sheung Cheung Wai which is about 200 years old. The gatehouse, shrines, some old house and part of the wall are still standing. You get a good sense of what the walled village was like to live in.

Sheung Cheung Wai interior

Nearby is the Yeung Hau Temple, a simple temple believed to be several hundred years old and was renovated in 1963 and 1991.

Yeung Hau Temple

It has 3 bays which house statues of Hau Wong (wiki link), Kam Fa (patron of expectant mothers) and the Earth God. "

Altar to Hau Hong

"The identity of Hau Wong is the subject of several different stories, but the villagers in Ping Shan believe that he was the Marquis Yang Liangjie, a Song dynasty general who gave up his life to protect the last two Song emperors and who is thus worshipped for his loyalty and bravery"

Altar to Earth God

A short walk through Hang Mei village brought us to the Tang Ancestral Hall. "Constructed in 1273, this Tang clan ancestral hall is a magnificent three-hall structure.. and is one of the finest examples of these types of buildings in Hong Kong."

It has 2 internal courtyards and an altar with what looked like tablets inscribing names of various ancestors. Immediately to the right of the Tang Hall is the Yui Kui ancestral hall which was built in the 16th century on a similar plan.

Tang Ancestral Hall

Nearby in the village is the Kun Ting Study Hall which was built in 1870 by Tang Heung-chuen of the 22nd generation of the Tang Clan in commemoration of his father Tang Kun-ting. The study hall provided facilities for both ancestral worship and education.

Kun Ting Study Hall

"Despite the abolition of imperial civil service examinations in the early 20th century, the study hall continued to provide educational facilities for the clan’s younger generations in Hang Mei Tsuen and the surrounding areas until the early post-Second World War period."

At 1pm just as we left the study hall, it was closed-up for a one-hour lunch-break, as were most of the remaining sights on the trail. Since we had to be at the theatre for 3pm, so didn't have time to wait for them to reopen, so we had to leave them for another time.

Hannah outside Kun Ting Study Hall

"The Ping Shan Tang Clan retains certain traditional customs to this day, such as the organization of various ceremonies during festivals. They not only symbolize the folk culture of the Tang Clan, but also reflect the traditional and unique characteristics of life in Hong Kong’s New Territories. "

One of the unique sights in Hang Mei village is the beautiful (and beautifully clean) public toilet complete with a courtyard and ornamental pine. I imagine it would easily win the title of "Hong Kong's best public convenience" if such a contest existed, albeit against a generally weak field.

Another surprise was the very attractive courtyard outside the Hung Shing Temple. The center-piece is a nice pool with a large school of koi carp swimming around a 'scholars rock'.

This reminded me of a friend in London who bought koi carp for the back-garden of his house in Essex only to have them nicked within a few weeks by professional fish thieves!

I wondered if crime in the area has improved so much that villagers who used live in walled villages for safety can now leave expensive fish swimming unattended outside. Or perhaps the fish receive protection from the god Hung Shing in the temple next door.

Video; Hannah admiring the fish, and thinking how much Minimi would enjoy watching them

"The Hung Shing Temple is thought to have been built by the Tang Clan in Dinghai (1767) during the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), which is the year inscribed on the board inside the temple. The existing structure was rebuilt in the 5th year of the Tongzhi reign (1866) of the Qing dynasty. Substantial renovation work was carried out in 1963. "

The Hung Shing Temple is a simple building with two halls separated by an open courtyard. In most of the other temples in Hong Kong, open courtyards are roofed over to form incense towers. Providing better lighting and ventilation, the original courtyard design at the Hung Shing Temple has been well preserved and remains one of the temple’s distinguishing features.

"Hung Shing also known as Hung Shing Ye ... was a government official in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) named Hung Hei serving Pun Yue in present-day Guangdong, China. He was a righteous government official who won approbation from the people. During his tenure in office, he promoted the study and application of astronomy, geography and mathematics, and established an observatory to observe the meteorological changes thus contributing to the well being of people under his governance, especially fishermen and sea traders". (wiki link)

"After his death, an Emperor of the Tang Dynasty disseminated his virtues to the whole country and bestowed upon him the posthumous title of Nam Hoi Kwong Li Hung Shing Tai Wong lit. the Saint King Hung the Widely Beneficial of South Sea. It is usually shortened to Hung Shing or Tai Wong."

"Legend has it that Hung Shing continued to guard the people against natural disasters on numerous occasions after his death, and showed his presence to save many people during tempests. The government as well as fishermen in the surrounding area built many temples to worship him as the God of Southern Sea. Hung Shing temples have been widely built in southern China, especially Guangdong province and in Hong Kong. "

House next door to Hung Shing Temple also had an attractive courtyard, and a contented dog dozing on the doorstep.

We were now out of time so skipped the last few stops on the trail and took a taxi to the Yuen Long Theatre. It was a good day-out and we are keen come visit the rest of the trail next time we have a concert at Yuen Long.