Tuen Mun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For districts of Hong Kong, see Tuen Mun District.

For a new town in Hong Kong, see Tuen Mun New Town.

Tuen Mun (Chinese: 屯門) was a market town near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. The markets in the town were Tuen Mun Kau Hui (屯門舊墟), Tuen Mun San Hui (屯門新墟) and Sam Shing Hui (三聖墟). Many Tanka fishermen gathered at the Castle Peak Bay.

[edit] History

Early settlement can be dated back to the Neolithic period. On the mouth of the Pearl River and on the route to its inner capital city, Guangzhou, Tuen Mun was a place for harbouring ships on international trade routes. In the Tang dynasty, a navy town, Tuen Mun Tsang (屯門鎮) was established in Nam Tau, which lies close to today's Tuen Mun, across Deep Bay. Tuen Mun and the rest of Hong Kong was under its protection.

A major clan, To (陶), brought the name Tuen Mun to the area. They migrated from Jiangxi and established a village Tuen Mun Tsuen (屯門村) late in the Yuen dynasty. As more and more villages were established, the village was renamed to Tuen Mun Tai Tsuen (屯門大村), which means the largest village. As yet more villages were established, a market town of Tuen Mun Hui (屯門墟) was established. This town lies where present-day Tuen Mun Kau Hui is situated.

Portuguese colonists had occupied the town in 1514 and were expelled by the Ming dynasty navy in 1521.

Tuen Mun remained an important town of coastal defense until the start of British rule in 1899. When the British tool over the New Territories from the Qing government in this year, the area was renamed to Castle Peak, and Tuen Mun Hui to Tsing Shan Hui (青山墟) or Castle Peak Hui. The name Tuen Mun, however, continued to be used by those living in the area.

In 1965, Castle Peak New Town was planned. It was later renamed to Tuen Mun New Town and implemented from 1970 and many buildings are on the reclamation on the Castle Peak Bay. Its name was officially changed back to Tuen Mun in 1972. [1]