THE FLOATING VILLAGES

The Sampan Industry

Sampan was once a popular form of water transportation in Hong Kong, it was frequently used to ferry people across the Aberdeen Harbour.

Floating Groceries

In the past, there were floating groceries operated on Sampan in the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter. Back in the time when there were a larger population of locals who lived on Sampans, the operation of floating markets could be convenient for the purchase of necessities across Sampans. People also operated other types of businesses on Sampans, including seafood markets and restaurants with fishball noodles as their signature dish. Yet, there are only a few floating markets remain in Aberdeen and Sai Kung nowadays.

Sampans refer to "three planks" in Cantonese, which refer to the construction structure in 3 wooden planks. Sampans are small, and flat-bottomed wooden boats. These boats often have an open deck design with upcurved endings. Sampans were first discovered in China for transportation purposes. Not only do they carry small items such as seafood, but also served as accommodation for sea dwellers. This also explains the reason why Sampans are built with a roof for shelter. Nevertheless, it is unable for Sampans to handle stormy seas due to their fragile wooden structure.

Despite a rare appearance in Aberdeen Harbour, they have been less used for economic purposes today. People who once lived on Sampans also moved ashore, or have been engaging in other types of occupations other than fishermen under the developed economy of Hong Kong. Although certain Sampans are still located in Aberdeen Harbour, they are only used for trips across rivers, or between docks. Sampans are at the risk of extinction as more kinds of advanced transportation have been developed.

Floating Seafood Market

Different from the world-famous Tsukiji Market in Japan or the Vigo Fish Market in Spain, the one-of-a-kind floating seafood market could only be found in Hong Kong, with its unique style of selling fishermen’s fish catch directly from their traditional wooden sampan.

Nevertheless, the scale of the floating seafood market has been curtailing in recent years due to the decline in the capture fisheries industry in Hong Kong. From touristy locations namely Tai O, to more locally oriented places like Aberdeen and Apleichau, we investigated the present operation of floating seafood markets and traced back their ancient maritime history – before they are completely replaced by modern wholesale markets.

FISHERMEN'S WAY OF LIFE

Besides fishing and trading, what does the fishermen’s way of life look like? In Hong Kong, the Tankas are an ethnic group in Hong Kong who traditionally lived on sampan or junks in coastal parts of Hong Kong for decades, also widely known as the boat dwellers.

According to the information provided by the Hong Kong Museum of History, the ancestors of the boat dwellers might be descendants of the ancient Yue (Canton) people, routinely spent their entire lives on boats and engaged in marine-related trades such as fishing, oyster-farming, pearl-diving and making salted-fish.

Life On Houseboats

In modern times, most of the fishermen no longer live on the houseboats and not preferably spend their whole lifes on the boat as their ancestors. Talking with fishermen we met in fishing villages, most of them are involved in the fishing industry as they were born and raised in a fishermen family.

With the rapid urbanisation and the improved quality of life living in accommodation on land, houseboats are no longer a preferable home to many fishermen. However, fishermen who insist on staying on houseboats are eager to keep the tradition , and they see it as a crucial part of Hong Kong fishing history despite its decline.