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1. The History
Luk Keng Chan Uk is a sizeable village in the north-east of the New Territories. It's popular for both sightseeing and hiking perspective. The village was inhabited predominantly by the Chan Clan who speak the Hakka dialect and the village was used for both livestock farming and growing crops. Wiki makes reference to half of the village's houses being deserted. Despite few residents remaining, occasionally, at Chinese New Year, old villagers and their descendants return to pray for their ancestors at the local temple.
The Chan clan's ancestors originally came to Luk Keng from the Ta Kwu Leng area in the 1700s, along with other descendants travelling to Tsuen Wan. They constructed a water-barrier which now carries the main road. However, according to wiki in the 1960s and 1970s many villagers left for the UK and other parts of the world, although this is slightly at odds with the fact that many of the houses were actually built in the 1960s. This was due, in the main, to UK immigration policy at the time and the fact that little work was available to the villagers who consequently looked to earn money further a field.
Hence little development has taken place in the village, and this has been further curtailed by the government designating the area as a "Zone of Special Scientific Interest". This has restricted development to small houses, despite most of the area being private land. The village does see a number of hikers passing through as the beautiful Bride’s Pool waterfalls are nearby.
2. The Explore
This was a revisit for me having been here two years ago. One thing I did notice was that more of the houses were occupied and less were abandoned, plus some that were previously open were now locked up. That said, there was enough to explore for an-hour-or-so in the humid heat of the Hong Kong Summer.
3. The Pictures
This terrace of empty houses greets you on the right hand side when you enter the village:
img1945 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Further on are more rows of locked-up, abandoned houses:
img1944 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1877 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1940 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1942 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1872 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1871 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Some serious rust-age here:
img1875 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1873 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Some are further gone than others:
img1943 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1899 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1897 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1879 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1865 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Few houses were actually open:
img1889 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The clock stopped at twenty to one:
img1890 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1869 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Luk Keng Chan Uk is a sizeable village in the north-east of the New Territories. It's popular for both sightseeing and hiking perspective. The village was inhabited predominantly by the Chan Clan who speak the Hakka dialect and the village was used for both livestock farming and growing crops. Wiki makes reference to half of the village's houses being deserted. Despite few residents remaining, occasionally, at Chinese New Year, old villagers and their descendants return to pray for their ancestors at the local temple.
The Chan clan's ancestors originally came to Luk Keng from the Ta Kwu Leng area in the 1700s, along with other descendants travelling to Tsuen Wan. They constructed a water-barrier which now carries the main road. However, according to wiki in the 1960s and 1970s many villagers left for the UK and other parts of the world, although this is slightly at odds with the fact that many of the houses were actually built in the 1960s. This was due, in the main, to UK immigration policy at the time and the fact that little work was available to the villagers who consequently looked to earn money further a field.
Hence little development has taken place in the village, and this has been further curtailed by the government designating the area as a "Zone of Special Scientific Interest". This has restricted development to small houses, despite most of the area being private land. The village does see a number of hikers passing through as the beautiful Bride’s Pool waterfalls are nearby.
2. The Explore
This was a revisit for me having been here two years ago. One thing I did notice was that more of the houses were occupied and less were abandoned, plus some that were previously open were now locked up. That said, there was enough to explore for an-hour-or-so in the humid heat of the Hong Kong Summer.
3. The Pictures
This terrace of empty houses greets you on the right hand side when you enter the village:
img1945 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Further on are more rows of locked-up, abandoned houses:
img1944 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1877 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1940 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1942 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1872 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1871 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Some serious rust-age here:
img1875 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1873 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Some are further gone than others:
img1943 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1899 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1897 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1879 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1865 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Few houses were actually open:
img1889 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The clock stopped at twenty to one:
img1890 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img1869 by HughieDW, on Flickr