Yim Tin Tsai ghost village, Hong Kong, July 2015.

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HughieD

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This place has a special place in my memory. I first visted the ghost village of Yim Tin Tsai back in the Summer of 2012. It was before I was officially into urbexing…but this was the place I did my first ever report on for Derelict Places back in January 2013. I had to do a revisit to see how the place looked three years down the line. It’s harder to get to than say Ma Wan as you have to get a boat out of Sai Kung (in the North East of Hong Kong) to the small island of Yim Tin Tsai itself. Last time I stumbled across the place and had limited time there due to the returning boat times. This time I made sure I had plenty of time at this gem of a place. Some things had changed slightly (one of the larger houses has been renovated and turned into a heritage museum) but the majority of the village was as before but slightly further down the line.

The history is here (from my previous report):

“The island was originally settled by members of the Hakka Chan clan in the 19th century. They made a living through fishing, farming and salt making and the "ghost island" of Yim Tin Tsai once boasted over 1,000 inhabitants from the Hakka clan in the small islands one and only village. Perhaps unsurprisingly Yim Tin Tsai actually translates as "Little Salt farm".

The island underwent a gradual depopulation throughout the 80s and 90s and is now abandoned. The island is just a short 20 minute ferry ride from Sai Kung pier and is well worth the three or four hours a round trip takes. The really striking thing is the sheer number of abandoned houses, many full of the previous occupant's possessions which they appear to have just left there when they abandoned their homes. Most of the houses which are slowly being reclaimed by nature were built in the 1950s but some look older.”


Like my Ma Wan report, due to the sheer volume of pictures, I’m going to split the report in half. Here’s the first swathe of pictures:

The first row of houses you come to are unchanged:

20297205324_567a0099a1_b.jpgimg0315 by HughieDW, on Flickr

20893464106_a3d165b7be_b.jpgimg0316 by HughieDW, on Flickr

And the artefacts left behind also remain:

20926906121_c18bfbc08b_b.jpgimg0323 by HughieDW, on Flickr
20732756109_91cd368d50_b.jpgimg0324 by HughieDW, on Flickr

These houses are as I remember:

20731535768_55c119c8e7_b.jpgimg0325 by HughieDW, on Flickr

20926798921_a65c432ae1_b.jpgimg0326 by HughieDW, on Flickr

20298360113_cae9f69a01_b.jpgimg0328 by HughieDW, on Flickr

20919348615_e48ec079b3_b.jpgimg0329 by HughieDW, on Flickr

20298281703_1480e4f680_b.jpgimg0330 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Well, the pots are still there:

20910082822_334d7cff72_b.jpgimg0314 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Although some graffiti has mysteriously appeared:

20926986931_fd9bfc75ee_b.jpgimg0321 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Not too sure what this says…

20731639768_1a678a52a5_b.jpgimg0322 by HughieDW, on Flickr

A vintage fridge rusts away:

20297126454_c6ca4e3c67_b.jpgimg0319 by HughieDW, on Flickr

This time I also took in the cemetery:

20296682994_dc70374115_b.jpgimg0331 by HughieDW, on Flickr

20919198455_ec4dfbda91_b.jpgimg0332 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Back to the village and more abandoned houses:

20926496021_3a11b57244_b.jpgimg0336 by HughieDW, on Flickr

20892831826_beb9ef0e81_b.jpgimg0337 by HughieDW, on Flickr

20296496414_fd6bfbc4a7_b.jpgimg0338 by HughieDW, on Flickr

20298001363_af872cd522_b.jpgimg0339 by HughieDW, on Flickr

20909273232_6960a5a838_b.jpgimg0340 by HughieDW, on Flickr

20926312031_08b5481147_b.jpgimg0342 by HughieDW, on Flickr

OK…that’s it for part 1. Part 2 coming soon.
 
Like I mentioned in a previous report on Honf Kong I'm surprised these haven't already been redeveloped considering how crowded the main parts of HK are.
 

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