After reading a couple of books on family activities in the New Territories, I was keen to visit some of the famous old chinese walled villages founded by the Tang Clan over 500 years ago.
So on a sunny Sunday we took a taxi through Tai Po and over the pass to the Pat Hueng valley in the north-west New Territories. This was a tougher trip than expected but also more interesting.
First stop was Kat Hing Wai (
wiki link) a famous village entirely enclosed in tall brick walls. Historically it would have been surrounded by fields but it is now engulfed in the sprawl of Kam Ting town.
The village was founded in the 1400s and walled in the late 1600s presumably for protection from bandits. The guidebook said "the walls are well preserved and they still work; you have to pay the old ladies of the village if you wish to enter". And indeed we did.
Decorations in the gate-house.
Inside is a grid of alleyways and brick houses, and the ambience reminds one of the challenges of creating effective drains.
Hannah wasn't so interested in the old houses but was delighted to find a talking parrot. If my chinese is correct one of its phrases is "I'd like to eat crackers"
Video: Parrot
From Kat Hing Wai we walked about 30min round to the village of Shui Tau Tsuen (
wiki link). It was now quite hot and Hannah really didn't want to walk.
First stop was the Yi Tai Study Hall (
link). This was a school built in the 19th century, and reflects the importance to the clan of educating boys to pass the imperial civil service exams, and thus gain power and influence.
The building had been beautifully restored and moved me to prepare an inspiring speech for Hannah on the subject 'The Importance of Education and Studying Hard'. Unfortunately my eloquence was lost on her and instead we had a lively debate on the merits of ice-cream.
From Yi Tai we kept walking north further into the village, and found a number of other old halls. We almost walked past the Cheng Chun Yuen study hall but I'm very glad we didn't - it is a wonderful place, which I'd like to visit again.
Cheng Chun Yuen was built in the 1860s by the Tang clan and 'mainly devoted to training in the martial arts'. So while the village swots were memorizing Chinese classics down at the Yi Tai hall, the village SWATs were drilling here at Cheng Chun Yuen and learning to fend off bandits.
Altar to the gods of martial arts where we paid our respects.
Training spears
The hall has a lovely pair of courtyards which were used for martial arts practice. Since there was nobody about, I was very very tempted to perform a set of Chen tai chi in the courtyard, presumably similar to what the students had done. Unfortunately a little girl urgently needed to find a loo and we ran out of time.
Just down the road was another lovely hall. And, unbelievably, a clean port-a-loo just waiting for Hannah (I'd like to think this was courtesy of the Gods of Martial Arts)
The hall had been prepared for some family event and was very pretty in the evening sun.
From there we wandered north to the edge of the village and the famous Kam Tin Tree house. The story goes like this: in 1662 the coastal regions of Guangdong were forcibly evacuated by the Qing government to deprive the anti-Qing rebels of local support (
wiki link). The population was driven 50km inland and Hong Kong became a wasteland. Garrisons of troops enforced the evacuation including one on Beacon Hill. The ban was rescinded in 1669 but by then the evacuees had suffered great hardship and most never returned.
The Kam Tin tree house is an impressive Banyan tree dating from these times. It was growing beside a house when the owners were exiled, but since they never returned its aerial roots gradually wrapped around the walls and doors. Eventually the house fell down but the roots preserve its outline.
Just down the road was another abandoned house with a young tree slowly taking over. Perhaps in 500 years tourists will marvel at the outline of a moped!
Fish ponds at the edge of the village with a nice view north to the mountains.
Shui Tau Tsuen has a third famous sight, the 'Bridge of Mother's Convenience' ('Bin Mo Kiu'). This was built in 1770 by dutiful son in 1770 to allow his mother to cross the stream to visit her grandchildren. It took him 6 years to save the money to build it, and has been held up as an example of filial piety for generations ever since.
The modest bridge is now flanked by a more substantial bridge and pavilions at either end which provide unobstructed views for several hundred tourists at a time. Obviously built for the convenience of coach-loads of chinese grannies and their offspring who now bus in from the mainland. There are also boards with lengthy explanations in case any of the offspring miss the message of the visit!
By now Hannah was getting tired so I carried her on my back and we took a bus home - western 'paternal piety' in action!
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