Yuen Long Heritage Ride
For many years, the people of Hong Kong saw little of value in old buildings and were only too happy to knock down any structure more than a
few decades old and replace it with more a modern version. To understand the situation, all one has to do is to count the number of pre-war
buildings on Hong Kong Island...
Recently, however, a growing awareness of the importance of maintaining the more tangible symbols of our history has led to protest rallies
and demands that, at least occasionally, instantaneous monetary gain be sacrificed in favour of preserving our heritage.
While they are few and far between on Hong Kong Island, the villages around Yuen Long in the northwestern New Territories are actually
teeming with buildings of historic interest, so put on a pair of padded shorts and join us for a leisurely ride along quiet backroads and village
footpaths to discover some of the HKSAR’s hidden heritage.
While the ride does include a visit to some of the protected structures making up the “Ping Shan Heritage Trail,” most of the time we will be
riding through the lesser known villages of Shap Pat Heung, such as Nga Yiu Tau, Yeung Ka Tsuen and Shui Tsiu San Tsuen, where we get to
look at a number of temples, ancestral halls and schools, some dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, including a temple to Tin Hau
which is now miles from the sea. However, most of the old buildings that we pass will be private residences. Indeed, en route you will see
houses built by people who ran restaurants in Brazil, traded with Indonesia, headed the Mauritius Free Port Authority or were seamen in the
USA. There is also an old mansion, where members of the Chinese resistance to the Japanese occupation once hid, and even a house that
used to be a police station…
As they mingle merrily with older residences, it is quite possible that we might be debating the delights of modern village house architecture
or the merits of various illegal structures but, occasionally, we will also find ourselves looking at small vegetable patches.
We finish the ride in the centre of Yuen Long where trains and express buses depart for Hong Kong and Kowloon every 5 minutes or so.
Of course, you might also be interested in grabbing lunch at a typical Chinese restaurant, before you head for home...
For many years, the people of Hong Kong saw little of value in old buildings and were only too happy to knock down any structure more than a
few decades old and replace it with more a modern version. To understand the situation, all one has to do is to count the number of pre-war
buildings on Hong Kong Island...
Recently, however, a growing awareness of the importance of maintaining the more tangible symbols of our history has led to protest rallies
and demands that, at least occasionally, instantaneous monetary gain be sacrificed in favour of preserving our heritage.
While they are few and far between on Hong Kong Island, the villages around Yuen Long in the northwestern New Territories are actually
teeming with buildings of historic interest, so put on a pair of padded shorts and join us for a leisurely ride along quiet backroads and village
footpaths to discover some of the HKSAR’s hidden heritage.
While the ride does include a visit to some of the protected structures making up the “Ping Shan Heritage Trail,” most of the time we will be
riding through the lesser known villages of Shap Pat Heung, such as Nga Yiu Tau, Yeung Ka Tsuen and Shui Tsiu San Tsuen, where we get to
look at a number of temples, ancestral halls and schools, some dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, including a temple to Tin Hau
which is now miles from the sea. However, most of the old buildings that we pass will be private residences. Indeed, en route you will see
houses built by people who ran restaurants in Brazil, traded with Indonesia, headed the Mauritius Free Port Authority or were seamen in the
USA. There is also an old mansion, where members of the Chinese resistance to the Japanese occupation once hid, and even a house that
used to be a police station…
As they mingle merrily with older residences, it is quite possible that we might be debating the delights of modern village house architecture
or the merits of various illegal structures but, occasionally, we will also find ourselves looking at small vegetable patches.
We finish the ride in the centre of Yuen Long where trains and express buses depart for Hong Kong and Kowloon every 5 minutes or so.
Of course, you might also be interested in grabbing lunch at a typical Chinese restaurant, before you head for home...
| ... exploring Hong Kong's other side... |
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Download Reservation Form here or click here to request more information.
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