Tin Shui Wai New Town
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| Tin Shui Wai New Town | |||||||
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| Tin Shui Wai (North) as seen from Hong Kong Wetland Park | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese: | 天水圍新市鎮 | ||||||
| Simplified Chinese: | 天水围新市镇 | ||||||
| Literal meaning: | Sky-Water-Walled city | ||||||
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Tin Shui Wai New Town (天水圍新市鎮) is located in northwestern New Territories of Hong Kong. It is a part of the Yuen Long District, and is the second new town in Yuen Long. It is situated 25 kilometres due north-west of Central, Hong Kong on land reclaimed from low lying areas south of Deep Bay. As of 2007, the New Town has a population of 268,800[1].
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[edit] History
Hong Kong's largest new town, conceived in 1987 to house 140,000 people, was constructed on 2.4 square kilometres of reclaimed fishponds and wetland representing one quarter of the flat land in the New Territories.[2] Formation of the 2.4 km² was estimated to cost HK$820 million in a contract signed with a Chinese joint-venture company. 20 million cubic metres of material would be required for the landfill. Maximum possible land formation was 4.88 km².[3]
The Government was accused by the developers of stalling the release of land for political reasons. Tin Shui Wai Developments, a company 51% owned by China Resources and 49% by Cheung Kong Holdings, sued the Government for damages caused by delays in handing over 388,000 m² of land for development originally promised for 1985. The land was eventually handed over in May 1989[2]
People started occupying the new town as of 1991[3]. The Housing Association launched 6,459 Home Ownership Scheme flats in the in the area at steep discounts to an adjacent private estate, and attracted some 90,000 applications.[4]
[edit] Environment
Parts of Tin Shui Wai have a picturesque and tranquil environment. The Hong Kong Wetland Park, demonstrating the diversity of the Hong Kong's wetland ecosystem, is located in north Tin Shui Wai.
Tin Shui Wai consists of both public and private housing estates. Tin Wah Road separates the south and the north development zones of Tin Shui Wai. The south development zone first started in the late 1980s, and has since become a unique community. Since Tin Shui Wai was planned and developed from scratch, locals enjoy wider walkways and larger open areas when compared to other urban developments in Hong Kong.
Following the completion of the north development zone, the government planned to build 85,000 units and apartments annually in Hong Kong. As such, the north development zone has residential apartment buildings that are generally taller and denser than those in the south zone. The population of Tin Shui Wai rose rapidly over the last part of the century, but has since stabilised. The government has been criticised for maintaining insufficient level of services and facilities to meet the rapid population growth in Tin Shui Wai.
[edit] "City of Misery"
In recent years, the town acquired a rather dubious reputation in Hong Kong for being an area where numerous serious family and social issues, including domestic violence, mental illness, and suicide occurs. The collective suicide of 3 girls through coal burning took place, attracting extensive reports from the local media. The image of Tin Shui Wai is thus severely tainted in the minds of many Hong Kong citizens; family tension and domestic violence issues are not limited to Tin Shui Wai.[citation needed] According to some Social workers, Tin Shui Wai is prone to family tragedies because of its remote location, limited employment opportunities, and high density of public housing estates.[5]. Some would also argue that the large number of new immigrants from Mainland China in the area, struggling to adjust to the different cultural and social dynamics of Hong Kong, also contributes to the problem.
In 2003, a mainland woman, who had sought help from both social services and the police, and her twin daughters were stabbed to death by her husband who then fatally wounded himself.[6]
In April 2004, a man killed himself after stabbing his 31-year-old mainland wife and two teenage daughters to death in their flat in Tin Shui Wai.[7]
In July 2006, the Director of Social Welfare, Mrs Carrie Lam, labelled Tin Shui Wai "City of Misery" (悲情城市). Lam's comment was criticised because it did nothing to solve the social problem within the town[8]
In October 2007, Mak Fu-tai, a 36-year-old woman suffering from mental illness bound the hands and feet of her 12-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son, and threw them out of a window in their 24th floor flat at Yiu Fung House, and then jumped to her death. Mak's husband, also with a history of mental illness, was hospitalised with terminal cancer. The deaths spurred a review of the inadequate social services provision.[9] This spurred some 20 non-governmental organizations to plead with the Legislative Council's welfare panel for more resources to deal with the problems there.[5]
On November 25, 2007, numerous residents rallied outside government headquarters to push for more aid and reform for the area. Many demanded the government to create new hospitals, jobs, and increase police enforcement in the town. [10]
[edit] Housing
[edit] Public housing estates
- Tin Chak Estate (天澤邨)
- Tin Heng Estate (天恆邨)
- Tin Shui Estate (天瑞邨)
- Tin Tsz Estate (天慈邨)
- Tin Wah Estate (天華邨)
- Tin Yan Estate (天恩邨)
- Tin Yat Estate (天逸邨)
- Tin Yiu Estate (天耀邨)
- Tin Yuet Estate (天悅邨)
- Grandeur Terrace (俊宏軒)
[edit] Home Ownership Scheme estates
- Tin Chung Court (天頌苑)
- Tin Fu Court (天富苑)
- Tin Oi Court (天愛苑)
- Tin Lai Court (天麗苑)
- Tin Sing Court (天盛苑)
- Tin Yau Court (天祐苑)
[edit] Private Housing Estate
- Kingswood Villas (嘉湖山莊) – one of the largest private housing estates in Hong Kong
- Chestwood Court (翠湖居)
- Kenswood Court (景湖居)
- Maywood Court (美湖居)
- Lynwood Court (麗湖居)
- Sherwood Court (賞湖居)
- Locwood Court (樂湖居)
[edit] Schools
Primary Schools
香港潮陽小學 潮陽百欣小學 中華基督教會方潤華小學 金巴崙長老會耀道小學 中華基督教青年會小學 香港青年協會李兆基小學 宣道會葉紹蔭紀念小學 香港學生輔助會小學 嗇色園主辦可銘學校 樂善堂梁銶琚學校 樂善堂梁銶琚學校（分校） 獅子會何德心小學 伊利沙伯中學舊生會小學 伊利沙伯中學舊生會小學(分校) 聖公會天水圍靈愛小學 順德聯誼總會伍冕端小學 十八鄉鄉事委員會公益社小學 東華三院李東海小學 東華三院姚達之紀念小學 天水圍天主教小學 天水圍官立小學 天水圍循道衛理小學 香港普通話研習社科技創意小學 元朗公立中學校友會英業小學 和富慈善基金李宗德小學 激活英文小學
Secondary Schools
佛教茂峰法師紀念中學 中華基督教會方潤華中學 中華基督教青年會中學 香港中文大學校友會聯會張煊昌中學 天水圍香島中學 香港青年協會李兆基書院 裘錦秋中學(元朗) 妙法寺陳呂重德紀念中學 伯裘書院 天主教培聖中學 伊利沙伯中學舊生會中學 伊利沙伯中學舊生會湯國華中學 順德聯誼總會翁祐中學 十八鄉鄉事委員會公益社中學 香港管理專業協會羅桂祥中學 賽馬會毅智書院 天水圍官立中學 天水圍循道衛理中學 東華三院郭一葦中學 元朗公立中學校友會鄧兆棠中學 元朗信義中學
[edit] Transport
Tin Shui Wai KCR station is situated on the West Rail Line line. It is located near Ping Shan and adjacent to Tin Yiu Estate, Tin Shing Court and Tin Yau Court. The station is elevated over the junction of Ping Ha Road and Tin Fuk Road. Several bus stops serve the station. Three footbridges are constructed along Tin Fuk Road and Ping Ha Road to connect the station to the highly populated urban area that the station is built in.
The district is also served by the MTR Light Rail, Tin Shui Wai West Rail station serving as the main interchange point for the local branch of this network, which runs in a circle around Tin Shui Wai proper. The light rail network, in conjunction with the West Rail line, connects the townships of Tuen Mun and Yuen Long.
A well-developed bus network is also an important transport element in Tin Shui Wai, with busses running to most major destinations in Hong Kong.
Main roads connecting the township to surrounding areas are Ping Ha Road, Tin Ha Road, Long Tin Road, Yuen Long Highway and Tin Wah Road (to Lau Fau Shan).
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes and references
- ^ See http://www.info.gov.hk/hkfacts/newtowns.pdf
- ^ a b Ng Kang-ching, "Developers sue over delay, The Standard, May 22, 1990
- ^ a b $820m new town deal will give homes to 140,000, Maureen Fan, South China Morning Post, October 27, 1987
- ^ Ng Kang-ching, Big rush for new release of HOS flats, South China Morning Post, December 18, 1991
- ^ a b Carol Chung, "`Town of sadness' pleads for help", The Standard, October 31, 2007
- ^ Carol Chung, "Mother, baby saved from suicide attempt", The Standard, November 10, 2007
- ^ Marco Lui and Daniel Pang, "Father, child in murder-suicide", The Standard, July 09, 2007
- ^ 天水圍vs「悲情城市, Wen Wei Po, July 18, 2006 (Chinese)
- ^ Scarlett Chiang, "Tragic deaths spur action on mental health", The Standard, October 16, 2007
- ^ "Residents in Hong Kong's 'City of Sadness' march for better social services", International Herald Tribune, 2007-11-25. Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
[edit] External links
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