Hongkong Sam Tung Uk, Tsuen Wan History

Hongkong Sam Tung Uk, Tsuen Wan History

Arek Madiun   11:11 PM   Comment  

Tsuen Wan has never been the easiest place to explore thanks to its need to make everyone walk around on a less-than-user-friendly system of walkways. But stuck in-between the often incongruous mixture of industrial buildings, office blocks, shopping malls and residential buildings you can find some real gems. Here is one of the more well-known ones and lucky for us it's just a few minutes short walk (along the ground and in a fairly straight line) from the Tsuen Wan terminus of the MTR's Central line (that's the red one for those who don't know).

The Sam Tung Uk museum is an old Hakka walled village that has been turned into a cultural museum explaining not only the history of the village and surrounding area, but also has a large section of the village turned into a nice display detailing some of the "intangible cultural heritage" that can be found in Hong Kong.

The village dates back to the late 18th Century when it was settled by the Chans, a clan of Hakka farmers who had moved to the area from Luofang but had ancestral roots in Fujian province. It seems as though the development of the MTR system in the late 70's seriously affected the village. Much of the surrounding farmland used by the villagers was sold to the MTR for the new track (meaning they could no longer support themselves by farming) and when the track was eventually built, part of the rear section of the village had to be removed to make way for it. A new resettlement village (Sam Tung Uk Resite Village) was built nearby in Cheung Shan and by 1986 the villagers had all been relocated. In fact the site was next door to the resite village for the Hoi Pa villagers, relocated when their village was turned into the Jockey Club Tak Wah Park.

For whatever reason and despite the fact that the MTR Depot is right next door, the village wasn't demolished and it was instead decided to restore it and turn it into the museum it still serves as. The restoration took some time largely because HK lacked the materials and artisans required for the work - I seem to remember the same issue was encountered when KingYin Lei was being restored - but eventually materials and other items for displays were sourced from neighbouring Guangdung where similar villages still exist.

Reconstructed stove

Reconstructed bedroom with cockloft

The museum has various reconstructed rooms including bedrooms, kitchens, dining rooms but I think in its heyday the various rooms would have held all manner of things including livestock. But the place is kept immaculately tidy and if you are lucky (like I was) you may find you have the run of the place to yourself.

One of the more interesting things for me though wasn't specifically Sam Tung Uk related but was the area dedicated to the aforementioned "intangible cultural heritage". This includes various customs and cultural events that would disappear without a concerted effort to preserve them. Included in the display is descriptions of the Hakka Unicorn dance (I'd never heard of this before and it looks like a Hakka version of the more famous local Lion dances), the Tai Hang Fire Dragon, Cantonese Opera, Guqin construction and a few more.

Anyway, for a nice quick trip that is easy to reach, just take the Central Line to the Tsuen Wan terminus and leave via Exit E. Head to the left and follow the road around past the MTR depot. The Sam Tung Uk museum is just past there.

Hongkong Jockey Club Tak Wah Park, Tsuen Wan History

Hongkong Jockey Club Tak Wah Park, Tsuen Wan History

Arek Madiun   3:38 AM   Comment  

Whenever I visit Tsuen Wan I always feel the place has a bit of an identity crisis � part new town, part old market town and part industrial centre. It�s a bit of a mess I feel, and wandering around the �newer� parts of town is often an exercise in problem solving as you attempt to find the most convenient flyover in order to simply cross the road. It�s a bit of a pain if you are not familiar with the place. Perhaps this can be explained by the fact that Tsuen Wan�s transformation into a New Town was the first of its kind in HK and, as such, a bit experimental in nature.

Regardless of the reason, what you find now is a place where old village buildings can be found stuck in the middle of urban residential high rises of various ages and provide a stark contrast between Tsuen Wan now and then.

Perhaps the most well known of these places is the Sam Tung Uk museum � a former Hakka walled village which has been preserved in-situ to offer the modern urban dweller a look into how life in Tsuen Wan really was like. Certainly less well-known although of similar value in terms of local heritage is the Tak Wah Park that has been created from the former village of Hoi Pa.

Park Pai Lau

Granted, only a few of the original village buildings remain but those that do have been incorporated into this well-designed Chinese style garden that provides some relaxing respite from the badly-planned (pedestrian wise at least) clutter that surrounds it.

Hoi Pa was once a rural community sitting right next to the sea. Then, in the 1960�s, along came the Colonial Administration who wanted to resume the village land to facilitate the creation of Tsuen Wan �New Town�. Hoi Pa was just one of many villages that struck a deal to relocate � in this case to the hillside above town � and the former village land now sits slap bang in the middle of the busy town centre.

However, in a move that is not commonly found here, not all of the land and/or village buildings were bulldozed for condominium space and instead what we now have is this small but very attractive park.

There are several original buildings inside the park�s boundary and in fact one, built in 1904, is a gazetted monument that now serves as the Environmental Resource Centre.

Environmental Resources Centre

The other is a large row of 1930�s village houses that have been amalgamated into what is now used as a gallery for local cultural exhibits.

The Tak Wah Gallery Building

There�s a couple more buildings dotted around, the following one looks to be either an old temple or Ancestral Hall, but the one in the following shot seems to have been created with the Chinese-style of the park in mind and certainly isn�t part of the original village structures. I imagine it was built when the first phase of the park was created in the late 80�s.

Anyway, the park has various fish ponds, Taoist rock-scapes, waterfalls, trees, moon gates, pavilions, bridges and sculptures � all of which are the typical ingredients for a nice Chinese-styled park.