Features December 2020∣Youth Hong Kong
Sam Tung Uk
capturing the past
One of Hong Kong’s 123 declared monuments is Sam Tung Uk, a walled village which has survived the centuries despite rapid nearby development in Tsuen Wan. The Chans, a Hakka family, lived there from 1786 until 1980 in the three rows of dwellings denoted by its name. Now a museum, it dates back to when pirates hid along Hong Kong’s shores and the Chans built high walls to keep them out. Occupying an area of 2,000 square metres, the symmetrical layout of the village resembles a chessboard with an entrance hall, an assembly hall and an ancestral hall at the central axis. With four individual houses in the middle, the village is completely fortified. 38
By Steven Ku
