Sha Tin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the district of Hong Kong, see Sha Tin District.
For the new town in Hong Kong, see Sha Tin New Town.
Sha Tin
Chinese: 沙田
Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin: Shātián
Cantonese
IPA: [sa55 tʰɪn11]
Jyutping: saa1 tin4
Yale: sā tìhn
Literal meaning: "sand field"
Shing Mun River and Lek Yuen Bridge (瀝源橋).
Shing Mun River and Lek Yuen Bridge (瀝源橋).

Sha Tin (also spelt Shatin) is an area in the New Territories, in the Hong Kong special administrative region of the People's Republic of China. It lies in the centre of the Sha Tin District.

Contents

[edit] History

Before effective British rule in Hong Kong, the area of Sha Tin and its vicinity was referred to as Lek Yuen. The officials mistook the name of Sha Tin Wai as the name of the area and have used it ever since.

Sha Tin was formerly a market town at the present location of Sha Tin Centre Street and New Town Plaza shopping centre, near the Sha Tin Station of the KCR East Rail. In present-day usage, "Sha Tin" may refer to the area around the original location of the market town, the market town and its environs, the Sha Tin New Town excluding the Ma On Shan extension, or the Sha Tin District.

Sha Tin was agricultural farmland many years ago, its most famous product was Sha Tin Pomelo. Before Sha Tin's development into a new town, Hung Mui Kuk (紅梅谷) in southwestern Sha Tin was perennially the site for school picnics. The valley remains a popular barbecue site.

Sha Tin was the location of the first flight of a powered aircraft in Hong Kong. A full size replica of this plane now hangs in Hong Kong International Airport.

[edit] Name origin: Lek Yuen

Lek Yuen
Traditional Chinese: 瀝源
Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin: Lìyuán
Cantonese
IPA: [lik55 jyn11]
Jyutping: lik1 jyun4
Yale: līk yùhn
Literal meaning: Source of Trickling

Lek Yuen is the original name of the Sha Tin area and its environs. When British surveyors first came to the area, they visited Sha Tin Wai and tried to get the name of the whole area. The villagers answered the officials it is Sha Tin and therefore the officials mistakenly recorded this as the name of the whole area. Sha Tin has been used instead of Lek Yuen even since.

The name literally means Source of Trickling or Source of Clear Water.

Nowadays, the original name is used to refer to Lek Yuen Estate.

[edit] Cuisine

Sha Tin is famous for certain southern Chinese food such as shanshui doufu (Chinese: 山水豆腐; lit. mountain-water beancurd) , barbecued pigeon and chicken congee. The cooked food stalls in Wo Che Estate and Fo Tan are hotspots for food.

[edit] Tourist spots

A stall selling local snacks at Pai Tau Village (排頭村), located near New Town Plaza.
A stall selling local snacks at Pai Tau Village (排頭村), located near New Town Plaza.
Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery
Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery

[edit] Public and private estates

  • Belair Gardens (富豪花園)
  • Sunshine Grove (晴碧花園)
  • City One (沙田第一城)
  • Garden Rivera (河畔花園)
  • Jat Min Chuen (乙明邨)
  • Ka Keng Court (嘉徑苑)
  • Kwong Yuen Estate (廣源邨)
  • Castello (帝堡城)
  • Lek Yuen Estate (瀝源邨)
  • Lung Heng Estate (隆亨邨)
  • Pok Hong Estate (博康邨)
  • Sun Tin Wai Estate (新田圍邨)
  • Sha Kok Estate (沙角邨)
  • Sui Wo Court (穗禾苑)
  • Wo Che Estate (禾輋邨)
  • Yue Tsui Court (愉翠園)

[edit] Schools

Baptist Lui Ming Choi Secondary School, one of the secondary schools in Sha Tin
Baptist Lui Ming Choi Secondary School, one of the secondary schools in Sha Tin

[edit] Shopping centres

Sha Tin Plaza in the evening
Sha Tin Plaza in the evening
New Town Plaza, under renovation.
New Town Plaza, under renovation.

[edit] Facilities

[edit] Restaurants

  • Lung Wah Hotel is a long-established restaurant known for its roast pigeon. It is popular with families, since it has a play area for children and a small aviary which houses peacocks and other birds.

[edit] See also

[edit] External link

Coordinates: 22°22′30″N, 114°11′00″E

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