Sai Kung villages
Tai Long
21 April 2025
Many houses have been abandoned over the years, a lot of them collapsing, though a small group of humble village houses remain in use and there is hiker traffic on the MacLehose Trail. In the past, the people relied on fishing, growing rice and sugar cane, and raising pigs, cattle, and chickens. Lives were simple and tough, with many walking about five hours to Ngai Chi Wan and Kowloon Walled City to sell their crops and fish. Some transported timber to Shau Kei Wan and Aberdeen by boat.
The Immaculate Conception Chapel was built in 1932. Catholic missionaries had been preaching in the area since around 1867, with a resident priest established in 1893. At its peak in the 1950s, the chapel served about 500 members. The chapel has not officially functioned since 1988 and is in a dilapidated state, but peering through the windows reveals that it is still partially in use.
Ferry service began in the 1950s but was disrupted after the pier was destroyed by Typhoon Wanda in 1962. Electricity was not introduced until around 1970. In the 1960s, many younger male residents migrated to the UK for work, followed by their wives and children in the 1970s and 1980s. Today, there is still no ferry pier and villagers must walk one and a half hours to reach the nearest road in Pak Tam Au.
Chek Keng
29 June 2018
Chek Keng sits in the shadow of Sharp Peak in the remote Sai Kung Peninsula. The village by the sea is now mostly abandoned.
To Kwa Peng
22 February 2025
To Kwa Peng, nestled by the sea near Wong Shek, is a largely abandoned village but it is undergoing renovation, with new houses being built in this idyllic cove.
Kau Lau Wan Fishermen's School
16 January 2021
No longer in use.
Tan Ka Wang
16 January 2021
Tan Ka Wan is in the northern part of Sai Kung Peninsula near to Ko Lau Wan. It is semi-inhabited and features St. Peter’s Chapel and Sung Min School, set up Catholic missionaries in the 1860s.
Sham Chung Tsuen
5 February 2022
Sham Chung Tsuen is a Hakka village first settled by the Lees and then the Wongs during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1795) of the Qing Dynasty. One house is open serving snacks and drinks at weekends but most of it is uninhabited and becoming consumed by nature.
Epiphany of Our Lord Chapel in Sham Chung and nearby houses
5 February 2022
The dilipadated Epiphany of Our Lord Chapel in Sham Chung, on the shore of Three Fathoms Cove in Sai Kung peninsula. This Roman Catholic chapel was established in 1879 and rebuilt in 1956. It also housed a school for the village which had around 50 pupils.
Wong Chuk Yeung
6 November 2021
Wong Chuk Yeung in the shadow of Ma On Shan, settled by the Lees in 1660. One house is inhabited, the rest are abandoned and dilapidated.
