Lai Chi Wo


Lai Chi Wo is a Hakka village near Sha Tau Kok, in the northeastern New Territories of Hong Kong. It is described as a "walled village" by some sources. Lai Chi Wo is located within Plover Cove Country Park and near Yan Chau Tong Marine Park. Founded by the Tsang and Wong families who established Lai Chi Wo over 300 years ago. The Tsangs' ancestors migrated from Shandong, while a Wong ancestor was a military commander who fled the fall of the Ming Dynasty. These two Hakka clans built the village, though their descendants have since dispersed, with only a few families still residing there, often in urban areas or abroad. As a result of this outward migration, the majority of the current residents are from the Tsang family, with only a few Wongs remaining in the village today.

Administration

Lai Chi Wo is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy.

History

The history of Lai Chi Wo dates back 400 years.It was once a prosperous Hakka walled-village in the northeastern part of New Territories. There were around 1000 residents in the most prosperous period. Some people are still living there today enjoying the village life. There is a restaurant inside the village next to the main gate serving good tofu fa and spam egg instant noodles which is enjoyable after a long hike to the village.
Around a hundred years ago, Lai Chi Wo was a poor village. At that time, a feng shui master suggested building 3 feng shui walls for the village to get rid of the evil spirits and keep the property inside the village safe. After setting up the three walls, the village regained its prosperity as before.
In recent years, most of the younger residents have moved out for a better living in nearby towns such as Fanling or Tai Po, or emigrated overseas to the UK, leaving the village with the older residents only. Some overseas based inhabitants have returned to connect with their ancestors village life. The original residents would, however, go back to the village whenever there are celebrations, like the Tai Ping Ching Chiu festival held once every 10 years. Many of the Tsang family members, have contributed to the refurbishment of the ancestor village and their names are recorded next to their donated amounts on a metal plaque at the village gate.
Lai Chi Wo is now the 16th special region inside Hong Kong. This special region was legalised in 2004 and enacted in 2005. Moreover, it has become one of the more popular hiking sites in Hong Kong. Hikers often start their route from either Wu Kau Tang near Tai Po or Luk Keng near Fanling. Hikers generally take Lai Chi Wo as a mid-way station.

Name

As the name suggests, this area was once known for its lychee trees which were grown in the area. Lychee are old trees which take decades to yield fruit. In the 1960s and 1970s, the villagers found it more profitable to plant mandarins, which could fetch good prices during the Chinese New Year. However, even the local villagers still cannot confirm if the village got the name because of the lychee trees or another reason.

Location

Lai Chi Wo is situated inside the Plover Cove Country Park and Yan Chau Tong Marine Park. The area is situated in the north-eastern part of New Territories, near Sha Tau Kok.
The altitude of Lai Chi Wo is about 10 metres. It is around 1 hectare of special region inside the area of Lai Chi Wo.

Structure of the village

The buildings

Lai Chi Wo walled-village and the houses inside adapt the structure of a typical Hakka village. There are 211 houses in the village, including 3 ancestral halls. 131 of the houses are single-storey buildings. Another 76 are double-storey, and the remaining four three-storey buildings. The village is structured in 3 rows and 9 columns.

The residents

The inhabitants of Lai Chi Wo consist primarily of the Tsang and Wong Hakka families. Many families have either moved overseas or to other parts of Hong Kong. The ancestors of the Hakka residents of this village are claimed to have originated from Kaifeng, Henan around 2,500 years ago. The Wongs in Lai Chi Wo originate from Fujian, via Huizhou to Hong Kong during the early Qing dynasty. No one lives there except the occasional members of the Tsang family nowadays.

Conservation

Fung shui woodland

;Layout
Thought was given to the elements needed to provide good fung shui for the village. Accordingly, the village is embraced by mountains and hills at the back and on both sides. This is a "green barrier" for the village. Native trees and shrubs are crucial concern for the selection of the fung shui sites, and villagers would also plant vegetations of different values to be added in the forest. Following the development of the forest, a C-shaped like forest would encompass the village, forming a typical layout of fung shui setting of the village and fung shui woods.
;Functions
Fung shui woods can protect and alleviate the impact of strong breeze and sun burn. During the time of heavy rainstorm, mudflow or landslide may happen. The natural barrier can help reduce the level of destructiveness by its retention capacity to stop the water and mudflow. Also, the dense broad-leaved trees are good resisters devoted to prevent hillfire from spreading. In economical terms, villagers grow the economic crops at the edge of the forest. It includes edible stuff and vegetation for medical purpose. They can be used as fuel wood or construction materials.
;Natural conservation
Fung shui woods have the ability to stabilise the slopes as well as to avoid leakage of surface nutrients and organic substances after heavy downpour. Moreover, the physical landscape and natural habitat of Hong Kong can be preserved. Indeed, they act as a breeding ground for other fauna such as birds, bats, butterflies and mammals to thrive.
;The Lai Chi Wo Fung Shui Wood
The fung shui wood still exists thanks to the effort of the villagers in the past to use every means to preserve it, such as limiting the number of days for fuel wood collection and imposing penalties for the damage of trees.
The 5–7 hectare fung shui wood comprises thick trees and shrubs. Most of them are 10–20 metres tall. We can see the great bio-diversity in Lai Chi Wo fung shui woods. For instance, we can find wild animals such as the Masked Palm Civet and Chinese Porcupine. Moreover, more than 100 plants have been recorded. Ordinary fung shui woods species like the Endospermum, Schima, Lance-leaved Sterculia, Incense Tree can be seen. Other less common species like the Sampson Macaranga, Lankok Fig and Golden-leaved Tree have also been found.

Siu Ying School

Siu Ying School has a long history. As there was no school in the other six villages, children of those seven villages went to this school to study. It closed in 1980. Then it had been left for many years. It will be converted to tourist centre in the forthcoming years. The objective of the centre is to let people know the importance of eco-awareness and preservation of environment, species, ecology, culture, learn about the natural environment, plants and animal species of Lai Chi Wo, experience the village culture in the New Territories.

Stone mills and well

Source:
Stone mills are used to peel the crust of the wheat. Each one is made up of two big cylindrical stone structure stacked together. The surface of the rocks is very rough. After you pour the wheat into the mills, you stir the rock structure, and the wheat will be peeled off into rice that villagers can eat.
By virtue of the fact that there was no tap-water, villagers have to fulfill their needs by getting waters from rivers and wells. However, there were not enough rivers near Lai Chi Wo, villagers started to dig wells and use underground water to meet the daily demands. But nowadays wells are abandoned.

Hing Chun Engagement (Seven-Village Square)

There are seven villages in the Hing Chun Alliance. They are Lai Chi Wo, So Lo Pun, Sam A Village, Mui Tsz Lam, Kop Tong, Siu Tan and Ngau Chi Wu which are located at the coast of Northeast New Territories and facing Kat O. In ancient time, when the ancestors of the 7 villages first settled in this place, the mountain and land were barren and arable lands were insufficient. They opened up wastelands and built up houses sparing no effort. Gradually, the families began to enlarge and became villages until Eastern Sha Tau Kok was developed, the 7 villages associated and made up the Hing Chung Engagement. They also opened up the Seven-Village Square. After the establishment of the engagement, the life has been smooth therefore villages all believed that it was because of the blessing of Guan Di and Guan Yin. To thank the gods and pray for good fortune, they decided to hold a ten-year session.

Ancestral Hall

Ancestral Hall is the representative building of a clan with a lot of spirit tablet worshiping ancestors according to their positions in the family hierarchy. The eldest is located on the highest place and the younger ones are located on the lower places. Every Tomb-sweeping Day and Double Ninth Festival, or some other big festivals, villagers must visit the temple. There are two main families in Lai Chi Wo: Wong family and Tsang family. Therefore, there are temples of these two families in Lai Chi Wo.

Hip Tin Temple and Hok Shan Monastery

There are two temples, Hip Tin Temple and Hok Shan Monastery, in the square of Lai Chi Wo. The two structures are connected.
They were built in the Qing dynasty and are more than two hundred years old. They were jointly built by the seven villages in Sha Tau Kok, Hing Chun Yuek for drawing good fortune and expelling the evils. The village people worship Guan Di and Guan Yin. Hip Tin Temple is for Guan Di while Hok Shan Monastery is for Guan Yin. The temples are categorised by the government as Grade II historic buildings.