Tsang Tai Uk
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Tsang Tai Uk (曾大屋), also known as Shan Ha Wai, is a Hakka walled village in Hong Kong, and one of the best preserved. It is located in Sha Tin close to the south of the Pok Hong Estate, not far from the Lion Rock Tunnel Road.
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[edit] History
Built in the 1840s, it was constructed in 1848 as a stronghold for the Tsang Clan. It is said to have taken 20 years to build the village. The village is built with granite, grey bricks and solid timber.
The founder of Tsang Tai Uk is Mr. Tsang Koon Maan, he is a wealthy man. He has a shop and he sells water to earn money. Tsang Tai Uk is rectangular in shape and consists of 3 rows of houses which are surrounded by grey-brick compound with high, thick walls and tall corner towers. All the houses are interlinked by passages and small courtyards. On the fortified walls,there are embrasures and loopholes. At the four corners, defensive towers were built to ward off enemies in the old days.
Ceremonies take place in the ancestral hall in the innermost row of houses. There are 3 arched entrances at the northern wall. The main or the ceremonial entrance is in the middle and leads to the ancestral hall.
In front of the house is a massive courtyard, where in the old days, villagers winnowed and dried their harvest.
Originally designed as the home for a rich quarry-master's clan, the walled village gained its current name when it gave refuge to displaced families after the Second World War. It is one of Grade I historic buildings as at 6 January 2007[1]
[edit] Access
MTR Route: Ma On Shan Line to Che Kung Temple or Sha Tin Wai and walk to Tsang Tai Uk
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[edit] External links
