Ma Wan Ghost village, Hong Kong, August 2017

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HughieD

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1. The History
There's an interesting backstory how a large fishing village like this came to be like this. As this is a re-visit and I did a lot of research last time around:

Ma Wan is a fishing village on the small island of the same name sandwiched between Tsing Yi island to the North and the very large Lantau Island to the south. The island with an area of barely a square kilometre in total was very traditional and was famous for fish farming, producing shrimp paste and its many seafood restaurants that Hong Konger's flocked to.

Things changed, however, when the island found itself on the new expressway between the mainland part of HK and the new airport at Lantau, via the Tsing Ma bridge, in the mid 90s. By 2000 the island's population was around 800 but this rocketed with the completion of the Park Island high-rised residential complex, developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties, in 2006 which housed 5,000 families. Displaced residents were offered traditional 3-storey houses on the south side of the island.

Things took a bit of a controversial turn around 2009 when Sun Hung Kai Properties built the Ma Wan theme park featuring a life-size copy of Noah's Arc next to the Park Island. This was used as a pretext for the government to then relocate all the residents in the fishing village elsewhere by compulsorily purchasing their homes, resulting in the ghost town we see today. Some observers saw this as an under-hand way of clearing the south side of the island for a second residential development along the same lines of the Park Island complex. This theory was further supported by the corruption trial of SHKP chairman Thomas Kwok and his brother and co-chairman Raymond Kwok, for allegedly bribing HK Government chief secretary and No.2 in charge, Rafael Hui Si-yan, following their arrest in March 2012. The Kwoks were alleged to have paid Hui tens of millions of dollars to be their "eyes and ears" in government. After a high-profile trail Hui was found guilty in December 2014 and jailed for 7 and a half years. Raymond Kwok was acquitted while his brother was found guilty and jailed for 5 years.

Two year's on very little has changed.

2. The Explore
This was the first place on my list and the first place I visited on arriving back in HK. The site is effectively the same as it was when I visited two years ago. You can visit this place multiple times as the sheer size of the site means there is always something you didn't spot first time around. Some houses are fenced up/sealed tight but many are not so there's endless opportunities for photographs.

3. The Photographs

First place you come to on the path from the modern village. Identical to last time!

36760446666_00cb5cb801_b.jpgimg1423 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36808262501_2985b9369d_b.jpgimg1419 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36113691044_6fed55acb3_b.jpgimg1418 by HughieDW, on Flickr

So many empty houses:

36139502403_c8a207bab1_b.jpgimg1424 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36551519180_efcd093963_b.jpgimg1426 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Some open:

36139289923_b12b88734d_b.jpgimg1434 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36139206343_d7153baa18_b.jpgimg1438 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Some not:

36776434002_3cfb8b8808_b.jpgimg1427 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36759891286_d8ecbcd63c_b.jpgimg1447 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36112986234_8132e7881e_b.jpgimg1450 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Some empty:

36947561005_56d1a10b6b_b.jpgimg1439 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Others with a few reminders of previous residents:

36759999856_b5828be4d3_b.jpgimg1441 by HughieDW, on Flickr


Old boat ropes:

36776848322_14d9a74ce3_b.jpgimg1507 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36760193826_54711063c5_b.jpgimg1432bw by HughieDW, on Flickr

Reminders of the fishing village's past industry:

36551354960_2206948a74_b.jpgimg1435 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36113142004_497f69c909_b.jpgimg1442 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36947433905_92a8a1ab04_b.jpgimg1445 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36139022873_828fe539b4_b.jpgimg1443 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Nice tiles!

36138924013_93a99dc1fc_b.jpgimg1453 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Obligatory shopping trolley pic:

36775777842_5a297b3bcc_b.jpgimg1474 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Old grinding stone:

36775829932_5e71ef80c9_b.jpgimg1473 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Some houses have been abandoned prior to the village's exodus:

36551018200_468e3dcfc6_b.jpgimg1454 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36807430911_37d7f6d955_b.jpgimg1462 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Former kid's playground:

36138749543_1162e422d0_b.jpgimg1476 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Former community centre:

36807040381_5ec6bfeb9f_b.jpgimg1490 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36775631582_8208bb6b8c_b.jpgimg1482 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36759359286_6170546980_b.jpgimg1488 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Former residence of Ma Wan (memorial to?):

36550781270_c5da24babb_b.jpgimg1480 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Down by the seafront:

36550678530_c561566b5b_b.jpgimg1486 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36946880805_14b4031276_b.jpgimg1489 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Nature at the window:

36550489910_26f4ef6359_b.jpgimg1496 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Bang a drum!

36775335172_6be196772a_b.jpgimg1497 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36241869001_e3d29b3612_b.jpg20170801_191819 by HughieDW, on Flickr

36138328743_c69de52f95_b.jpgimg1501 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Decaying chair:

36946628415_01db162199_b.jpgimg1505 by HughieDW, on Flickr

That's all folks!
 
Last edited:
Oh that's proper lovely mate, some cracking detail shots there. Really enjoyed that. You do spoil us with your far flung adventures! Been a bit too tied up at work and life in general to say thanks your for all of your previous reports from that trip but loved them all, cheers!
 
I enjoyed this Hughie, so much to see and you have captured it well with some nice shots
 
Cheers folks. A bit of a sad place for me in some ways. Remember going to the place pre-2009 when it was in full swing as a fishing village (have got some pictures somewhere). It was one of the closest "authentic" fishing villages to Kowloon. And now all those lives changed for what end?
 
Great report Hughie! Interesting history, I wonder what will become of the place?!
Was wondering that myself. It's not going to be repopulated as it was. It's currently in limbo. Ultimately I think it will be redeveloped as tower blocks. Did look on the net but no new info since I visited two years ago.
 

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