The Land Between Tour

Today we headed out into the New Territories on a guided tour. The weather had really closed in and it was raining quite steadily when we finally found the bus. Our first stop on the tour was the Yuen Yuen Institute, a temple complex dedicated to the three major religions in HK; Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.


The complex was pretty cool. It can be hard at times to determine what is legitimate and what was put on for the tourists, but it seemed pretty honest and genuine. We then headed for the Tai Mo Shan lookout point, but the fog was so dense you could hardly see the nearby trees, let alone see down to HK itself.


The fog would ruin many of the cool scenic views along the tour, but at least the rain stopped early in the tour. In fact, by the time we got back to North Point we had blue skies again! After leaving the lookout we visited Fanling Village, a centuries-old walled village.


The houses were packed in so close and the fog added to the claustrophobic feel. The village was a maze of narrow alleyways and then suddenly you are out the other side! Families used to live inside these villages to protect themselves from intruders (and other families). When the sons or daughters were married they would build another house within the village walls. This continued of many generations until the houses were packed together so tightly that there was nowhere else for them to go! Nowadays the younger generation have left the crumbling old village for the new city.

After the walled village we headed out to a traditional Hakka village that has also seen it's population decrease rapidly over the last few decades. With the old men passing away and the youngsters all back in HK it seems that only old ladies and broken down houses remain.


You can thank Michelle for the cool photo! Last stop for us was the Sam Mun Tsai fishing village.


The fisherman here don't throw back the small fish they net during their fishing trips, instead keeping them in nets under the floating huts until they are big enough to sell to the markets. Once again, progress is threatening their way of life, with a nearby property development forcing them to move their village so that the view from the new apartments isn't ruined.