Cheung Chau          長洲
Hansen's Events
38 D, Tower 2, Sham Wan Towers
3, Ap Lei Chau Drive
Ap Lei Chau
Hong Kong

Tel: (+852) 9552 0987     E-mail : info@hansens-hikes.com
Though Cheung Chau literally means “Long Island” the island is shaped rather more like a dumbbell. Benefitting from a large natural
harbour, Cheung Chau has been a fishing village since the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). All day long the ports are busy with the comings
and goings of the fishing boats.

While the island might well be Hong Kong’s most densely populated outlying island, it is still a peaceful place that moves calmly
through each day, providing visitors with a pleasant place to escape from the hustle and bustle of city-life.

Besides the harbour, the numerous old and interesting temples and the intriguing maze of narrow lanes, Cheung Chau is also a
watersports centre – with windsurfing the most popular discipline. This is, after all, where Hong Kong’s only Olympic Gold Medallist,
Lee San San, started her career. You can give it a go yourself or you can just laze about on one of the many beaches on the island.

One final note of interest: On the southwest tip of the island you find the Cheung Po Tsai Cave. Legend has it that this used to be the
place where Cheung Po Tsai, a genuine Qing dynasty pirate, hid much of his loot. Many people, flashlights in hand, visit this cave
every year. Perhaps one day, someone will discover Cheung Po Tsai's treasure!
Pak Tai is a Taoist god of the North. Pak Tai, also named Yuen Tin Sheung Tai (Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven), was a prince of the Shang Dynasty. During the fall of the Shang Dynasty, the Demon King ravaged the world. The Taoist Primeval Deity (also known as Yuen Chi Tin Chuen then ordered the Jade Emperor to appoint Pak Tai as the commander of twelve heavenly legions to fight the evil. Pak Tai defeated the Demon King and was subsequently granted the title of Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven. In Pak Tai temples, the bronze tortoise and serpent under the feet of Pak Tai's image signifies that the good always prevails over the evil. The Chinese world celebrates his birthday on April 21.
 
Pak Tai is a Taoist god of the North. Pak Tai, also named Yuen Tin Sheung Tai (Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven), was a prince of the Shang Dynasty. During the fall of the Shang Dynasty, the Demon King ravaged the world. The Taoist Primeval Deity (also known as Yuen Chi Tin Chuen then ordered the Jade Emperor to appoint Pak Tai as the commander of twelve heavenly legions to fight the evil. Pak Tai defeated the Demon King and was subsequently granted the title of Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven. In Pak Tai temples, the bronze tortoise and serpent under the feet of Pak Tai's image signifies that the good always prevails over the evil. The Chinese world celebrates his birthday on April 21.
 
Guan Yin is an extremely popular Goddess in Chinese folk belief and is worshiped in Chinese communities throughout East and South East Asia. Guan Yin is revered in the general Chinese population due to her unconditional love, compassion and mercy. She is generally regarded by many as the protector of women and children. By this association she is also seen as a fertility goddess capable of granting children. She is also seen as the champion of the unfortunate, the sick, the disabled, the poor, and those in trouble. Some coastal and river areas of China regard her as the protector of fishermen, sailors, and generally people who are out at sea, thus many also come to believe that Mazu, the Taoist goddess of the sea, is a manifestation of Guan Yin. Due to her association with the legend of the Great Flood where she sent down a dog filled with rice grains in its tail after the flood, she is worshiped as a rice goddess. In some quarters, especially among business people and traders, she is looked upon as a Goddess of Luck and Fortune. In recent years there have been claims of her being the protector of air travelers.
Guarding Lion
Pak Tai Temple
   Pak Tai Temple
Cheung Chau
   Incense Burner
Kwun Yam Temple
The mast has been dismantled and a diesel engine installed, but otherwise this traditional Chinese fishing junk is pretty much unchanged since the Qing dynasty...
 
Fish drying on racks near the waterfront in the heart of Cheung Chau...
 
The mast has been dismantled and a diesel engine installed, but otherwise this traditional Chinese fishing junk is pretty much unchanged since the Qing dynasty...
Traditional Fishing Junk
   Drying Fish
   Traditional Fishing Boat
Tin Hau, also known as Mazu (lit. Mother-Ancestor) is the Taoist goddess of the Sea who protects fishermen and sailors, and is revered as the patron saint who protects East Asians who are associated with the ocean. Her mortal name is Lin Moniang. According to legend, Lin Moniang was born in 960 (during the early Northern Song Dynasty) as the seventh daughter of Lin Yuan on Meizhou Island, Fujian. She did not cry when she was born, and thus her given name means Silent Girl. There are many legends about her and the sea. Although she started swimming relatively late at the age of 15, she soon became an excellent swimmer. She wore red standing on the shore to guide fishing boats home, even in the most dangerous and harsh weather. According to one legend, Lin Moniang-s father and brothers were fishermen. One day, a terrible typhoon arose while they were out at sea, and the rest of her family feared that those at sea had perished. In the midst of this storm, depending on the version of the legend, she either fell into a trance while praying for the lives of her father and brothers or dreamed of her father and brothers while she was sleeping. In either the trance or the dream, her father and brothers were drowning, and she reached out to them, holding her brothers up with her hands and her father up with her mouth. However, Moniang-s mother now discovered her and tried to wake her, but Moniang was in such a deep trance or dream that it seemed like she was dead. Moniang-s mother, already believing the rest of their family dead, now broke down, crying, believing that Moniang had also just died. Hearing her mother-s cries, in pity, Moniang gave a small cry to let her mother know she was alive, but in opening her mouth, she was forced to drop her father. Consequently, Moniang-s brothers returned alive (sadly without their father) and told the other villagers that a miracle had happened and that they had somehow been held up in the water as a typhoon raged. There are at least two versions of Lin Moniang-s death. In one version, she died in 987 at the age of 28, when she climbed a mountain alone and flew to heaven and became a goddess. Another version of the legend says that she died at age 16 of exhaustion after swimming far into the ocean trying to find her lost father and that her corpse later washed ashore in Nankan Island of the Matsu Islands.
 
Hung Shing (??), also known as Hung Shing Ye (???) and Tai Wong (??), was a government official in the Tang Dynasty named Hung Hei (??) serving Pun Yue in present-day Guangdong, China. He promoted the study and application of astronomy and geography, contributing to the well being of People under his governance, especially fishermen and sea traders. Unfortunately, he died young and after his death, fishermen in the surrounding area built many temples to worship him. An Emperor of Tang dynasty named him to be Nam Hoi Kwong Li Hung Shing Tai Wong (????????), lit. the Saint King Hung the Widely Beneficial of South Sea. It is usually shortened to Hung Shing or Tai Wong. His birthday is 13th day of 2nd month in Chinese calendar.
 
Tin Hau, also known as Mazu (lit. Mother-Ancestor) is the Taoist goddess of the Sea who protects fishermen and sailors, and is revered as the patron saint who protects East Asians who are associated with the ocean. Her mortal name is Lin Moniang. According to legend, Lin Moniang was born in 960 (during the early Northern Song Dynasty) as the seventh daughter of Lin Yuan on Meizhou Island, Fujian. She did not cry when she was born, and thus her given name means Silent Girl. There are many legends about her and the sea. Although she started swimming relatively late at the age of 15, she soon became an excellent swimmer. She wore red standing on the shore to guide fishing boats home, even in the most dangerous and harsh weather. According to one legend, Lin Moniang-s father and brothers were fishermen. One day, a terrible typhoon arose while they were out at sea, and the rest of her family feared that those at sea had perished. In the midst of this storm, depending on the version of the legend, she either fell into a trance while praying for the lives of her father and brothers or dreamed of her father and brothers while she was sleeping. In either the trance or the dream, her father and brothers were drowning, and she reached out to them, holding her brothers up with her hands and her father up with her mouth. However, Moniang-s mother now discovered her and tried to wake her, but Moniang was in such a deep trance or dream that it seemed like she was dead. Moniang-s mother, already believing the rest of their family dead, now broke down, crying, believing that Moniang had also just died. Hearing her mother-s cries, in pity, Moniang gave a small cry to let her mother know she was alive, but in opening her mouth, she was forced to drop her father. Consequently, Moniang-s brothers returned alive (sadly without their father) and told the other villagers that a miracle had happened and that they had somehow been held up in the water as a typhoon raged. There are at least two versions of Lin Moniang-s death. In one version, she died in 987 at the age of 28, when she climbed a mountain alone and flew to heaven and became a goddess. Another version of the legend says that she died at age 16 of exhaustion after swimming far into the ocean trying to find her lost father and that her corpse later washed ashore in Nankan Island of the Matsu Islands.
Tin Hau Temple
Nam Tam Wan - Morning Beach
   Hung Shing Temple
   Tin Hau Temple
Sin Wan - Western Bay
With no proper roads on the island, transport is limited to these glamourized tractors known as village vehicles
 
There are no real cars on Cheung Chau island - just these glamourized tractors known as village vehicles
 
One way to get around Cheung Chau is by hiring bicycles. They come in 2, 3 or 4 wheel versions...
St. John's Hospital
Non-emergency Ambulance
   Gas Transport
   Bicycles For Rent
The rugged southern coast of Cheung Chau island
 
A left-over from the reign of King George V...
 
Pak Tso Wan, one of many small sandy coves on Cheung Chau island
Southern Coastline
   Colonial Letterbox
Round Table Village
   Secluded Beach
Pak Tso Wan
Modern fishing vessels in the Cheung Chau typhoon shelter
 
Shrimps drying on racks near the waterfront in the heart of Cheung Chau...
 
Sampans provide a waterborne ferry service between the piers at Sai Wan and central Cheung Chau.
Modern Fishing Vessels
   Drying Shrimps
   Sampan
   
Modern fishing boat
   
    Modern Fishing Boat
    
Hansen's Events explores Cheung Chau on these outings
Klik her for Hansens Hikes forside...
Click here to go to the Hansens Hikes main site...
Hansen's Photo Gallery
by Hansen's Events