| Fo Tan | |||||||||||
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| View of Fo Tan | |||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 火炭 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 火炭 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning | fire charcoal | ||||||||||
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Fo Tan (Chinese: 火炭) is a suburb of Sha Tin District, Hong Kong. It was developed as a light industrial area, but this activity has declined markedly in recent years. There are residential areas to the east, alongside the MTR line, and in the foothills to the west.
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To the south is Sha Tin New Town, with the small community of Wo Che in between. To the north is Kau To and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Nearby to the east is Sha Tin Racecourse while across the Shing Mun River is City One Shatin.
Since 2001, as industrial businesses have closed and moved to China, more than 70 units in the utilitarian industrial blocks have reopened as artists' studios, creating a vibrant if well hidden local arts scene. Every January, a festival, Fotanian - Open Studio Programme, sees many of the studios open to the public. Guided walks lead visitors to these normally private working studios, which encompass a wide range of media and styles.[1]
There are also some art exhibitions in the New Asia Library on the CUHK campus all year round.
Private housing estates in Fo Tan include:
Shatin Galleria is the only significant retail development in Fo Tan. It has several restaurants, including KFC, McDonald's, Maxim Chinese Restaurant, Asra Indian restaurant, Comma Cafe and Seafood Delight.
The residential area in Fo Tan, namely the apartment complexes in Royal Ascot, Jubilee Garden, and the Palazzo, also provides a variety of restaurants.