Yuen Long District

Yuen Long

元朗區
Yuen Long 元朗區
District
	Yuen Long District
	Day view of the Yuen Long District skyline
	Official emblem
	Location of Yuen Long District within Hong Kong
Country	China
Special administrative region	Hong Kong
Constituencies	31
Government
• District Council Chairman	Leung Che-cheung, MH,JP (DAB)
Area
• Total	138.43 km2 (53.45 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	534,192
• Density	3,900/km2 (10,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (Hong Kong Time)
Website	Yuen Long District Council

Yuen Long District (Chinese: 元朗區; pinyin: yuánlǎng; Jyutping: jyun4 long5, formerly known as Un Long) is one of the districts of Hong Kong. Located in the northwest of the New Territories, it had a population of 449,070 in 2001. The district has the youngest population of Hong Kong.

Geography

Yuen Long District contains the largest alluvial plain in Hong Kong, the Yuen Long-Kam Tin plain. With an area of 144 km², the district covers many traditional villages including Ping Shan Heung, Ha Tsuen Heung, Kam Tin Heung, Pat Heung, San Tin Heung and Shap Pat Heung, as well as Yuen Long Town and Tin Shui Wai.

Two new towns have been developed within this district. Yuen Long New Town was developed from the traditional market town of Yuen Long Town from the late 1970s. Tin Shui Wai New Town has developed since the early 1990s, and is built on land reclaimed from former fish ponds once common in the district.

History

Since the Tang Dynasty, the Tang's clan has been living in Pat Heung. Like Tai Po, Yuen Long used to be a traditional market town.

Culture

Special festivals

The Tin Hau Festival (天后誕巡遊) is on the 23rd of the third month of the lunar calendar. It celebrates the birth of a local deity, Tin Hau. During the day, residents from various walled villages set off at Fung Cheung Road, go via Kau Yuk Road and the Yuen Long Stadium, and end at Tai Shu Ha Tin Hau Temple, which has a 300-year history.

Cuisine

Poon choi (盤菜)
Sweetheart cake (老婆餅)

Popular scenic spots

Hong Kong Wetland Park

Hong Kong Wetland Park (香港濕地公園) is located at the northern part of Tin Shui Wai. It was intended to be an ecological mitigation area (EMA) for the wetlands lost due to Tin Shui Wai New Town development. In 1998, a project named as "International Wetland Park and Visitor Centre Feasibility Study" was initiated by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the Hong Kong Tourism Board with a view to expanding the EMA to a wetland ecotourism attraction. After concluding that it was feasible to develop a wetland park at the EMA site without compromising its intended ecological mitigation functions and the development of the Wetland Park will also enhance the ecological function of the EMA to a world-class conservation, education and tourism facility, the concerned parties started the Wetland Park Project, which is regarded as one of the Millennium projects by the Administrations.

Kat Hing Wai

Kat Hing Wai (吉慶圍) in Kam Tin is one of the District's best-known walled villages. It is the ancestral home of the Tangs, one of the "Five Great Clans" in the territory. Built by the Tangs 500 years ago, it is a rectangular walled village with an area of 100 metres by 90 metres. As a family stronghold, Kat Hing Wai has served the Tangs well through centuries. In the Qing Dynasty, a five-metre high blue brick wall and four cannon towers were added to defend bandits.

Route: West Rail Line Kam Sheung Road Station or KMB routes 54, 64K and 77K

Nam Sang Wai

Nam Sang Wai (南生圍) covers a roughly triangular area. It is bordered by the Shan Pui River in the west, separating it from Yuen Long Industrial Estate, the Kam Tin River in the east and a branch of the Kam Tin River in the south. It is home to many birds, including seagulls, Northern Pintails (Anas acuta), Yellow-nib Ducks (Anas poecilorhyncha) and Black-faced Spoonbills (Platalea minor).Flora includes reeds and mangroves.

Mai Po Marshes

Mai Po Marshes (米埔) is located in the centre of the wetland and has achieved international significance as a stopping and feeding place for migratory birds along the East Asian-Australian Flyway. The birdwatching season runs from October to May and more than 300 types of birds have been recorded in the area, many of them are rarely seen anywhere outside the region.

Visitors may go to Mai Po by the following ways:

From Central, take route 968 to Yuen Long (West) Bus terminal, then change taxi.
From Sheung Shui Station, take Bus 76K or red minibus 17 to Mai Po village, then walk to the Marsh (about 20 minutes).

On 30 Jan 2004, the Government suspended public visits to the Mai Po wetland reserve as a supposed measure to protect people from avian flu (H5N1).

Ping Shan Heritage Trail

Ping Shan Heritage Trail (屏山文物徑), inaugurated on 12 December 1993, was designed to link several historic buildings and monuments owned by the Tang clan in Ping Shan (including Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda 聚星樓 and Tang Ancestral Hall 鄧氏宗祠) by a 1 km trail.

Route: LRT Ping Shan Stop, Hang Mei Tsuen Stop or West Rail Line Tin Shui Wai Station

Tai Fu Tai

Tai Fu Tai Mansion (大夫第) in San Tin was probably built in 1865 in the reign of the Qing Dynasty. It is a richly embellished residence situated on a spacious ground, with a large open space in the front and a garden at the back. The whole compound is surrounded by a green-brick wall. It is a fine example of traditional Chinese dwellings of the scholar-gentry class and is certainly one of the most elegant buildings throughout the territory.

Route: KMB Bus 76K to San Tin

Tai Lam Country Park

Tai Lam Country Park is at the west of New Territory with an area of 54 km². Tai Lam has a small area of porphyry in the northeast; for the remaining area, it is composed of highly erodible decomposed granite. In 1952, afforestation started as a measure to protect the water catchment area. In spite of the poor soil conditions and the setbacks of fire damage over the years, mature stands of Acacia confusa, Lophostemon confertus, Pinus massoniana, Pinus elliottii and Eucalyptus species now cover most of the area. In addition, the plantations also offer a good habitat for birds, pangolins, Chinese leopard cat, and barking deer. Nevertheless, Tai Lam is an excellent place for outdoor activities because of its remoteness.

Yuen Long Park

Yuen Long Park (元朗市鎮公園) is a park at Yuen Long Town with recreational facilities. There is a 7-storey pagoda enclosing an aviary, which has become a landmark of Yuen Long.

Route: LRT Shui Pin Wai Stop, LWB bus E34 or KMB Bus 68X, 268B, 268C, 268X, 269D, 276, 276P, B1 (get off the bus at Yuen Long Park.)

Leisure and cultural facilities

Yuen Long Theatre was opened in May 2000. This modern performing arts venue has become a centre for the arts in the New Territories northwest. The Theatre is situated at Yuen Long Tai Yuk Road in the vicinity of Yuen Long Park, Yuen Long Stadium and the Public Swimming Pool. The bamboo courtyard is a focus within the foyer, which creates an ambiance of serenity and tranquility.
Yuen Long Town Hall is located in Kau Yuk Road, near Yuen Long Police Station. It is to organise courses and leisure activities. There is also study room.
Yuen Long Swimming Pool is situated at Tai Yuk Road. There are 5 Standard swimming pools for four seasons.
Tin Shui Wai Swimming Pool and Tin Shui Wai Sports Centre are situated at 1 Tin Pak Road. There are 3 swimming pools for four seasons and a children swimming pool opened during summer.
Yuen Long Public Library is on the first floor of Yuen Long Government Offices, 2 Kiu Lok Square, Yuen Long.
Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Public Library is at Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Leisure and Cultural Building, 1 Tsui Sing Road, Tin Shui Wai.
TSW Pegasus and Yuen Long District SA are both football teams based in Yuen Long Stadium.

Transport

Located in the northwest of the New Territories, Yuen Long has a well-developed public transport network. It is easily accessible from different parts of Hong Kong by bus, mini-bus or railway.

Bus services provided by Kowloon Motor Bus, Citybus and MTR
West Rail Line and Light Rail services provided by MTR
Public light buses
Taxis, including the New Territories taxis (green taxis) and public taxis (public taxis).

Statistical information

Demographic characteristics
Population		449,070
Proportion of population (%)	Aged under 15	20
	Aged 15–64	71
	Aged 65 and over	9
Median age		33
Proportion of population aged 15 and over being never married (%)	Male	32
	Female	27
Education
School attendance rate of population aged 6–18 (%)		92.9
Proportion of non-student population aged 20 and over having attained tertiary education (%)		10.9
Labour force characteristics
Labour force		219,444
Labour force participation rate (%)	Male	74.0
	Female	48.2
	Both sexes	60.9
Median monthly income from main employment of working population (HK$)		10,588.7
Household characteristics
Number of domestic households		137,211
Average domestic household size		3.2
Median monthly domestic household income (HK$)		16,763.5
Housing characteristics
Number of occupied quarters		136,705
Average number of domestic households per unit of quarters		1.01
Proportion of domestic households owning the quarters they occupy (%)		48.15
Median monthly domestic household mortgage payment and loan repayment (HK$)		7,693.83
Median mortgage payment and loan repayment to income ratio (%)		24.63
Median monthly domestic household rent (HK$)		2,513.04
Median rent to income ratio (%)		16.36

Future

Entering into the 2004, development in Yuen Long has been carried out very rapidly. The West Rail project and other major infrastructural projects have all changed the face of Yuen Long from an old market town into a vibrant and dynamic district.

Apart from the West Rail project, Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor (深港西部通道), the fourth cross border route, between Hong Kong and mainland China has been completed and was opened in 2007. The site chosen in Hong Kong is Ngau Hom Shek (鰲磡石), located at the North West of Yuen Long and that in the mainland is near Shekou, the busiest harbour port. The bridge is 5.5 km long and the expected traffic capacity is 80,000 car per day. It will benefit residents in Yuen Long because going to mainland China will only take 15 minutes.^[1]

Footnotes

^ Route: Number 10

External links

Template:Hong Kong

[1] Route: Number 10

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