Old Forts on the Eastern Stream.

Happy New Year! I didn't really intend to go anywhere today. To be honest I woke up with a bit of a hangover, but I finally decided to cut my losses and go out. I wasn't in the mood for difficult or far, so I thought I'll stick to being on Lantau and just go look at Tung Chung Fort.

I've not been to Tung Chung Fort before, though I've seen it, because, at one point, we considered buying a house in the village next to the fort. In the end we were put off by the fact that several rooms in the house we were looking at had no windows and thus no natural light. We ended up buying in Discovery Bay instead.

Tung Chung is Chinese for Eastern Stream. It is located on the northwest coast of Lantau. It was originally a fishing village, right next to Tung Chung Bay and was also an important area of defence against pirates and foreign invaders.

Tung Chung Fort dates from the Shun Hei Era, which stretched from around 1174 to 1189. It was built to house around three hundred soldiers sent here to combat salt smugglers, who illegally traded salt from this area into Canton. Once the smuggling here was dealt with, many of these soldiers were sent to man the fortifications at Kowloon Walled City. During the Qing dynasty, pirates, such as Cheung Po Tsai, used Tung Chung Bay as their base and made use of the fort. Cheung Po Tsai is famous for having hidden his ill-gotten gains in a cave on Cheung Chau Island.

To be honest I felt Tung Chung Fort was rather run down and neglected and this is sad because I don't think Hong Kong has much in the way of heritage like this. It should be looked after. The outer walls of the fort are pretty much intact and you can wander all the way around the outside. The steps as you go around are huge and hell on the knees. My knees already hurt and I know I'll pay the full price tomorrow. There was an old lady walking the walls in front of me who had to be practically carried down every step, but good for her for still being brave enough to try and walk around the walls.

Inside the fort many of the buildings had shattered windows. There were lots of children from the nearby village playing in the fort, which is fair enough as it seemed to have been turned into a playground with basketball hoops. Perhaps this is left over from when it was a school. There's an Indian restaurant just outside the main gate.

Entrance to the Fort.

Entrance to the fort.

Entrance to the fort

Entrance to the fort.

Inside the fort.

Inside the fort.

Children playing inside the fort.

Children playing inside the fort.

Old reflects new.

Old reflects new.

Old reflects new.

Inside the fort.

Walking the walls.

Walking the walls.

Walking the walls

Walking the walls.

Walking the walls.

In the shadow of the new.

Buildings inside the fort.

Buildings inside the fort.

Inside the fort.

Looking back on the fort.

As well as the old fort, Tung Chung has an old battery, lime kilns and temples. I visited the Tin Hau Temple which is located in Chek Lap Kok new village. Chek Lap Kok is Hong Kong's airport and it was built on an area of land reclamation and a partially levelled small island called Chek Lap Kok. The island had a small population, of around twenty families, who were relocated to this village. The islanders would originally have been farmers and fishermen. Their Tin Hau temple was dismantled and brought with them.
The original temple dates from 1823. It was dismantled in 1991 and rebuilt in 1994.

Gateway to Temple.

Tin Hau Temple.

Tin Hau Temple.

Tin Hau Temple.

Tin Hau Temple.

Temple Altar.

Although Tung Chung is now a built up new town with high rise and housing estates, there's still plenty of rural and greenery.

Rural Tung Chung.

Autumn.

Autumn.

On the way back to Tung Chung's bus station, I took some pictures of the art work lining the underpass. It seemed to showcase the sights of Lantau.

Promoting the Big Buddha.

Promoting Disneyland.

Promoting the airport.

Promoting Tai O.

Promoting Tung Chung Fort.