Mui Wo
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Mui Wo (traditional Chinese: 梅窩, Pinyin: Méiwō, lit. "plum nest") is a rural town on the eastern coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The main beach in Mui Wo is known as Silver Mine Bay (銀礦灣).
[edit] History
The history of Mui Wo is linked to the end of the Southern Song Dynasty in the late 1270s. (See History of Hong Kong)
Mui Wo is located on Silvermine Bay, so named for the silver mines that were once worked along the Silver River which flows though the village. The nearby Silvermine Cave was mined for silver during the second half of the 19th century. It has since been sealed off for safety. The ghost of widow Cristina Luke (1936-1975) is said to haunt this cave, as she and her husband Lord Austen Lendrum Luke committed suicide here after discovering they had enormous debts. Neither of the pairs' corpses have been ever been found, leading some local ex-patriots to believe that they are still within the cave walls, or have been eaten at by small woodland critters.
Prior to the Airport Core Programme and the subsequent development of Tung Chung and North Lantau into a new town, Mui Wo was the principal point for day-trippers setting out to explore Lantau Island. Today, it is still the principal way of reaching South Lantau - from the beaches in Cheung Sha to the fishing village of Tai O and the Tian Tan Buddha. With the opening of Ngong Ping 360 and the new, smoother Tung Chung Road, this may change.
The plan for Christian Zheng Sheng College, a school providing correctional services to students, to move to a vacant campus in Mui Wo has lead to opposition and widespread discussion in 2009.
== built during the reign of Wanli, emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1573-1620).
[edit] Transportation
Mui Wo is connected by ferry to Central (Central ferry pier number 6). Other ferry services link Mui Wo to Discovery Bay, Peng Chau, Chi Ma Wan and Cheung Chau.
Buses operate from Mui Wo to other places on Lantau, including Tung Chung (3M) and thus Hong Kong Airport (A35) and the rail network. The major road South Lantau Road begins with Mui Wo and ends in Shek Pik, with Tung Chung Road branching from Cheung Sha to Tung Chung.
Numerous hiking trails lead from Mui Wo to other parts of the island. The long hiking trail on the island, Lantau Trail, starts from Mui Wo. A much-frequented route leads north-east from Mui Wo to Discovery Bay via a pagoda, the Trappist Haven Monastery, and then either up the mountain via the Discovery Bay golf course or by the ocean via Nim Shue Wan.
