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Are you done with the hustle and bustle of the city? Finished with your shopping? Take a look at the other side of Hong Kong!
Visit old Hakka villages, marvel at the views from the highest peaks, enjoy the roar of a waterfall, walk through a sea arch, swim at a beautiful beach, learn about Hong Kong's unique geology or just have a relaxed stroll through the woods. Just to name a few. The possibilities are endless.
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Hakka Culture of Double Haven
No upcoming schedule for this tour (request scheduling)
The remote waters of Double Haven are dotted with islands, and lined with winding shorelines. For many centuries, Hakka clans settled in this area for farming and fishing. While many of these villages have been abandoned and have turned into ghost villages, some are still inhabited by small numbers of people, who cling on to their traditional way of life. This tour will visit three of these communities: Ap Chau (map marker 2), Lai Chi Wo (map marker 3) and Kat O (map marker 4).
Ap Chau is a tiny island, inhabited since shortly after the second world war. In 1953 a proper village was built when the US branch of the True Jesus Church offered a grant to finance the construction. A village was built, complete with school, community centre and of course a church. At its peak a couple hundred people lived there, the current count is 3.
Ap Chau is also a geopark site. The island is built up of a red sedimentary breccia - it looks as if someone took a huge dump truck and created an enormous pile of construction waste, except that in this case the bricks can not be pulled out of it. At the far end of the island is also a low but rather wide sea arch, the eye of the duck (from a distance the island looks a bit like a duck lying on the water, hence the name Ap Chau - duck island).
Lai Chi Wo is a well preserved and well maintained walled Hakka village. This village is also known for its ecologically important fung shui woods and large swathes of mangroves. Home to over 3,000 people at its peak, now just a handful are still living here. Over the past few years, villagers have tried to revitalise their old home. The fung shui wall has been rebuilt, some houses are under renovation and a Geoheritage Centre has opened here.
We'll also walk around the village. Sights include the hollow autumn maple tree, the five-fingered camphor at the fung shui woods, the rice paddies and other agricultural fields, the temple, and all the old houses of the village itself.
Kat O, a once thriving fishing island home to over 2,000 people spread over at least a dozen villages, has only a few dozen residents nowadays. Some are retired, others are fishermen living and working on the island, fishing mostly in the surrounding waters.
Sights in Kat O include the viewpoint on top of Ko Tei Teng, the Lover's Tree, the Tin Hau temple (with two statues of Tin Hau), the abandoned village school and a wishing tree.
There are many abandoned and unmaintained houses here. One always wonders, what makes people abandon their home leaving behind furniture and even the pictures on the wall?
We may also have a traditional Hakka style lunch at Kat O (optional; not included; please register when booking this tour if you're interested) before catching the speed boat back to Lai Chi Wo.
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