Heat and Heritage.

Chinese Garden, Sha Tin Park.

This week we have been for the occasional swim when rain, weather signals and health issues have all managed to work in our favour.

On Tuesday we ate out with our friend Agnes and had a lovely catch up before she heads off to Japan for the summer. We went to Figo's for their set lunch. I had mushroom soup, Malaysian chicken curry and bread and butter pudding with vanilla ice-cream. Agnes had melon and feta salad, then pork chop. Peter didn't go for the set option. He had his usual four cheeses pizza with a crispy base.

After lunch, we went to the club and sat outside on the balcony overlooking the pool. We were sitting in the shade, but it was still incredibly hot. Agnes brought us some homemade bread, cinnamon buns and mooncake. She and her friends have really got into baking.

The three of us.

Agnes and Peter.

The pool at the club.

I waited until Friday before continuing my explorations. I set off with the intention of heading to Tai O, but found it was raining and the thunderstorm warning was raised, so I decided it would probably be a better idea to go somewhere else. I got on the bus without a particularly clear plan of where I was heading, then decided on the spur of the moment that I'd go to Ma On Shan, Tai Wai and Sha Tin.

I started with Ma On Shan. Ma On Shan means 'Horse Saddle Mountain' because there is a very tall mountain here that when viewed from afar looks a bit like a horse's saddle. Naturally I had no intention of going anywhere near the mountain in this heat.

Ma On Shan began life as a small farming village. Then iron ore was discovered in the hills here, and in 1931 the government issued a fifty year mining license. This caused the population of the village to grow rapidly, as many miners flooded in from Mainland China. In its heyday in the 1950's and 60's, this village was home to over three thousand miners. This huge influx of people also brought a lot of social problems and church groups moved in to help. Several churches were built, including Yan Kong Lutheran Church. The mines closed down in 1976 due to changes in the international market. Nowadays only around eighty families still live in the original Ma On Shan Village.

I was fortunate enough to attend a service in Yan Kwong Lutheran Church shortly after coming to Hong Kong. This church was redeveloped as a mining heritage centre in 2014 and I will get around to visiting it some time.

In the 1980's the Ma On Shan area was developed as one of Hong Kong's new towns. These were created to deal with the soaring population. The town is now home to many high rise residential estates and shopping malls. We used to live not too far away in Fo Tan, but hardly ever came here, and I only recently realised it has a very beautiful waterfront park. To get to the park, I exited the station through Exit A. This brought me into Ma On Shan Plaza, a shopping mall with a merry-go-round and a rather elaborate water operated clock.

Ma On Shan Plaza.

The clock.

The merry-go-round.

Close up of merry-go-round horse.

Close up of merry-go-round horse.

Walking straight from the MTR past the merry-go-round and clock, I came to a walkway which took me over Sai Sha Road and into the park. Near the park I found Ma On Shan Library, Swimming Pool and Sports Centre.

Ma On Shan Library.

Ma On Shan Swimming Pool.

Swimming Pool.

Ma On Shan Sports Centre.

I then wandered around the park itself. It is a pretty park with play facilities for children and fitness trails for the elderly.

Entrance to the park.

Map of the park.

Children's play area.

It also has a Maritime Plaza, complete with statues of several Chinese pink dolphins. There would have been a lot of these in the water here at one time. Behind this plaza there's a viewing platform and on the other side of this there is a maze.

Maritime Plaza.

Maritime Plaza.

Dolphins.

Dolphins.

Viewing platform.

Maze.

Centre of the maze.

I found the park to be very pleasant with a forest walkway, several pavilions and lots of beautiful flowers and flowering trees. There was the occasional quirky feature which I think small children would love. I rather liked them myself.

Forest walkway.

Bird model in the forest.

Lobster Claw Plant in the forest walk.

Pavilion.

Pavilion.

Rock Trumpet Flowers.

Chinese chestnut tree.

Roses.

Rose.

Jasmine tri-colour ferns.

Screw Pine.

Flowering cassia fistula tree.

Flowering cassia fistula tree.

Bromeliade.

Butterfly.

Tree sculpture.

Japanese stone lantern.

Decorative watering can.

There was even an area devoted to the history of mining in Ma On Shan. This had various examples of iron ore and some leftover mining machinery as well as a mining sculpture.

Mining equipment.

Mining equipment.

Mining equipment.

Mining display.

Mining sculpture.

Between the park and the waters of Tolo Harbour there is a waterfront promenade. It stretches from Tai Shui Hang to Wu Kai Sha. I couldn't walk that in the heat, though it would be very pleasant when it is cooler. Instead I just walked to a nearby beach. I noticed that there were lots of flowering trees lining the beach. There was a pier in the distance. Only one person was in swimming.

Map of the Waterfront Promenade.

Waterfront Promenade.

Waterfront Promenade.

Beach.

Beach.

Flowering sea hibiscus trees on the beach.

Sea hibiscus on the beach.

Sea hibiscus on the beach.

It was an incredibly hot day and I was starting to suffer, so I returned to the MTR station and headed to Tai Wai. I had decided to go and visit the Hong Kong Heritage Museum which is right next to the school my husband used to work in. It was great to cool down on the train.

The school Peter used to teach in.

Hong Kong Heritage Museum.

We used to take children on trips to the Hong Kong Heritage Museum to see the displays on traditional Hakka life. These displays seem to have gone now. Outside the museum there is a huge statue of Bruce Lee. There's an exhibition on his life inside the museum, too.

Bruce Lee.

Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee Exhibition.

Bruce Lee posters.

I had a wander around the T.T. Tsui Gallery of Chinese Art and took several photos of the exhibits before realising I wasn't allowed to. I actually found it a bit confusing about where I could and could not take photos.

T.T. Tsui was a Hong Kong entrepreneur, philanthropist and antique conisseur, who donated over seven hundred pieces from his private collection to The Hong Kong Heritage Museum. These include ceramic and bronze items and statues.

Statue.

Statue.

Ceramic figures.

Ceramic figures.

Ceramic figures and pots.

Mask.

Ox cart.

I then had a look at the 'Miss You Much Leslie Exhibition.' Twenty years ago on the first of April 2023, Cantopop singer and film star, Leslie Cheung, threw himself from the twenty-fourth floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Central. He had been suffering from chronic clinical depression. His death deeply shocked Hong Kongers.

I knew about his death, as we were here when it happened, but I didn't know much about his life. Leslie Cheung was born in Hong Kong in 1956. He was the youngest of ten children. His father was a tailor and made suits for several Hollywood stars. Leslie began his show business career as a singer. He went on to release more than forty albums. Later he also began to appear in films. He acted in fifty-six different movies, including his most famous, 'Farewell My Concubine '. Cantonese people called Leslie 'Gor Gor' which means big brother. He was openly bisexual at a time when this was considered unacceptable. Nowadays he is a major LGBTQ icon.

The exhibition displayed some of the many awards Leslie received and some of his stage outfits, including a pair of high heel red shoes he wore while performing at a concert in 1997.

Leslie Cheung.

Outside the Leslie Cheung Exhibition.

Leslie Cheung's red high heel shoes.

Coins with Leslie's face.

After wandering around the museum, I decided to go for a walk through Sha Tin Park. I enjoyed the Chinese Garden at the southern end of the park with its bridge, pavilion and waterfall. I also saw a heron fishing here.

Map.

Chinese Garden.

Chinese Garden.

Moon Gate Chinese Garden.

Waterfall.

Waterfall.

Heron.

The park also has a lily pond, flowers and walk ways.

Waterlily.

Waterlily.

Flower.

Walkway.

Near the town hall there were several statues. Some of these commemorated the 20O8 Beijing Olympic Games. The equestrian events were held in Hong Kong.

Olympic statue.

Olympic statue.

Olympic statue.

Pet park.

Diamond Ring Statue near Marriage Registry Office.

Preservation Planet Earth. The world is in our hands.

It was too hot to explore the entire park, but I did take a look at the Lek Yuen Pedestrian Bridge which had been decorated with lanterns to celebrate the twenty-sixth anniversary of The Handover on July first.

Lek Yuen Bridge.

Lek Yuen Bridge.

Lek Yuen Bridge.

Selfie on bridge.

Shing Mun River.

Shing Mun River.

Shing Mun River.

There are lots of free things for the Handover Anniversary, such as free transport, free museum entry, free entry to sports facilities and discounts in restaurants, but I won't try and take advantage of these, as I expect they will be too busy.