Tsang Tai Uk

Tsang Tai Uk
Tsang Tai Uk
Traditional Chinese	曾大屋
Literal meaning	Big House of the Tsangs
Yale Romanization
Transcriptions
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization	Chàhng daaih ūk
Jyutping	Cang5 daai6 uk1

Tsang Tai Uk

曾大屋
Tsang Tai Uk; 曾大屋
Hakka walled village
	External view of Tsang Tai Uk in October 2006
Country	Hong Kong
District	Sha Tin
Founded by	Tsang Koon-Man
Elevation	2.5 m (8.2 ft)

Last updated September 08, 2021

Tsang Tai Uk, also known as Shan Ha Wai^[1] (山下圍; 'Walled Village at the Mountain's Foot'), is a Hakka walled village in Hong Kong,^[2] and one of the best preserved. The complex is located in Sha Tin close to the south of Pok Hong Estate, near Lion Rock Tunnel Road.

History

The construction of Shan Ha Wai was begun in 1847 by the wealthy granite merchant and stonemason Tsang Koon-Man as a stronghold for the Tsang clan, and took around 20 years to complete. The original granite, bricks and solid timber are still preserved today. The complex is rectangular and consists of three rows of houses enclosed by grey brick walls. The four corners each feature a three-story guard tower with openings in the wall through which guns could be fired back in the early days of the complex's role as a defensive fortification.^[2] All the houses are interlinked by passages and small courtyards. In the innermost row of houses is an ancestral hall where meetings and ceremonies took place. There are three arched entrances in the northern wall. The main or ceremonial entrance is in the middle and leads to the ancestral hall. In front of the main building is a massive courtyard, where villagers traditionally winnowed and dried their harvest. It also contained a study hall where the Tsang children were tutored before schools existed.^[3]

Shan Ha Wai gained its current name Tsang Tai Uk from locals when it housed displaced families after the Second World War.

During the 1970s development of the Sha Tin New Town, the surrounding area was developed significantly. During the course of new town development in Hong Kong, sometimes villages were relocated. However, Tsang Tai Uk was preserved due to its historical significance.^[4] In 1979, the village had about 700 residents, of whom about 300 belonged to the Tsang clan.^[4] Prince Charles, a former archaeology and history student, visited Tsang Tai Uk on 4 March 1979 during a royal tour.^[5]

The land reclaimed from Tide Cove upon which the Sha Tin New Town was built was formed to an average of five or six metres above sea level. However, Tsang Tai Uk is only 2.5 or three metres above sea level, and historically suffered from flooding. During Typhoon Wanda in 1962, the village was badly flooded, with the ground level having been completely inundated. In the late 1970s, the government devised a drainage improvement plan.^[6]

Conservation

Tsang Tai Uk is listed as a Grade I historic building.^[7] Restoration work of the ancestral hall started in 2009, after a HK$ 1m Government grant on maintenance of privately owned graded historic buildings had been approved.^[8] Visitors are permitted in the first courtyard and ancestral hall;^[9] the remaining courtyards and buildings are private.

Access

The closest MTR stations are Che Kung Temple ^[10] and Sha Tin Wai.^[11]

Related Research Articles

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.

Sha Tin District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. As one of the 9 districts located in the New Territories, it covers the areas of Sha Tin, Tai Wai, Ma On Shan, Fo Tan, Siu Lek Yuen and Ma Liu Shui. The district is the most populous district in Hong Kong, with a population of 659,794 as per 2016 by-census, having a larger population than many countries or dependencies including Iceland, Malta, Montenegro and Brunei.

Most of the walled villages of Hong Kong are located in the New Territories.

Tai Wai is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong, located between Sha Tin and the Lion Rock, within the Sha Tin District.

Sha Tin Wai is a station on the Tuen Ma line in Sha Tin, Hong Kong. The name "Sha Tin Wai" comes from the village called Sha Tin Wai, which is located to the northeast of the station. It was provisionally called "Sha Kok Street" before the Ma On Shan line opened, because it is located at Sha Kok Street.

Ping Shan Heritage Trail is a heritage trail located in the Ping Shan area of Yuen Long District, in Hong Kong. The trail was inaugurated on 12 December 1993 and was the first of its kind in Hong Kong. It passes through the villages of Hang Tau Tsuen, Hang Mei Tsuen and Sheung Cheung Wai and it includes several declared monuments and graded buildings.

Sheung Shui Wai, also known as Sheung Shui Heung (上水鄉) is an area in Sheung Shui, in the northern part of the New Territories of Hong Kong. Its population is around 6,000 people.

Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project.

Kam Tin, or Kam Tin Heung, is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It lies on a flat alluvial plain north of Tai Mo Shan mountain and east of Yuen Long town. It was formerly known as Sham Tin (岑田). Administratively, it is part of Yuen Long District.

Wong Uk Village is a village at the southwest of Yuen Chau Kok, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. With the exception of the "Old House", the village was demolished in the 1970s to make way for high-density housing and re-established nearby.

Yuen Long Kau Hui is an area in Yuen Long, Yuen Long District, in the western New Territories of Hong Kong.

Wang Chau is an area of Yuen Long District, located in the northwestern part of Hong Kong, west of the Shan Pui River.

Tai Hang is an area in Tai Po, Hong Kong.

Wing Lung Wai is a walled village located in the Kam Tin area of Yuen Long District, in Hong Kong. Three other walled villages, Kat Hing Wai, Tai Hong Wai, and Kam Hing Wai are located nearby and were built around the same time.

Sha Tin Wai is an area in Sha Tin District, New Territories, Hong Kong, named after Sha Tin Wai village (沙田圍村).

Sha Tin Tau is a village in Tai Wai, Sha Tin District, Hong Kong. It is located east of Chun Shek Estate, north of Fung Shing Court and south of Tsang Tai Uk.

Tin Sam Village or Tin Sam Tsuen, sometimes transliterated as Tin Sum, is a village in Tai Wai, Sha Tin District, Hong Kong. It is located west of Sun Chui Estate, north of Lung Hang Estate, and southeast of Festival City. Part of Tin Sam Village consists of Tin Sam Wai (田心圍), a historic walled village.

Ma Tseuk Leng, sometimes transliterated as Ma Tseuk Ling, is an area in Sha Tau Kok, North District, Hong Kong.

Ng Uk Tsuen or Tai Tseng Ng Uk Tsuen (大井吳屋村) is a village in Wang Chau, Yuen Long District, Hong Kong.

References

↑ Hill, Ronald D. (1985). "Fragments and speculations: the walled villages of Hong Kong". Journal of the Hong Kong Archaeological Society. Hong Kong Archaeological Society. 11: 25-38. OCLC 02465191.
1 2 Brief Information on proposed Grade I Items. Item #1 Archived 2013-11-04 at the Wayback Machine
↑ "All under the same roof". South China Morning Post. 4 July 1991. p. 26.
1 2 "Great day for village". South China Morning Post. 25 February 1979. p. 7.
↑ Finch, Jenny (5 March 1979). "Charles meets the people – sometimes". South China Morning Post. p. 12.
↑ Lee, Vivian (5 October 1978). "$2m scheme to keep floods from village". South China Morning Post. p. 14.
↑ List of the 1,444 Historic Buildings in Building Assessment (as of 27 December 2013)
↑ Press release: Financial Secretary visits Tsang Tai Uk, September 16, 2009
↑ Approved applications for financial assistance on maintenance of privately-owned graded historic buildings
↑ "Che Kung Temple Station street map" (PDF). MTR Corporation . Retrieved 9 June 2021.
↑ "Sha Tin Wai Station street map" (PDF). MTR Corporation . Retrieved 9 June 2021.

External links

[Fragments-1] Hill, Ronald D. (1985). "Fragments and speculations: the walled villages of Hong Kong". Journal of the Hong Kong Archaeological Society. Hong Kong Archaeological Society. 11: 25-38. OCLC 02465191.

[proposed_Grade_I-2] 1 2 Brief Information on proposed Grade I Items. Item #1 Archived 2013-11-04 at the Wayback Machine

[3] "All under the same roof". South China Morning Post. 4 July 1991. p. 26.

[great-4] 1 2 "Great day for village". South China Morning Post. 25 February 1979. p. 7.

[5] Finch, Jenny (5 March 1979). "Charles meets the people – sometimes". South China Morning Post. p. 12.

[6] Lee, Vivian (5 October 1978). "$2m scheme to keep floods from village". South China Morning Post. p. 14.

[7] List of the 1,444 Historic Buildings in Building Assessment (as of 27 December 2013)

[8] Press release: Financial Secretary visits Tsang Tai Uk, September 16, 2009

[approved-9] Approved applications for financial assistance on maintenance of privately-owned graded historic buildings

[10] "Che Kung Temple Station street map" (PDF). MTR Corporation . Retrieved 9 June 2021.

[11] "Sha Tin Wai Station street map" (PDF). MTR Corporation . Retrieved 9 June 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]