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Starling Inlet Hakka Villages
Luk Keng, Fung Hang & Kuk Po
鹿頸, 鳳杭 及 谷埔
Located on the edge of Hong Kong's largest freshwater marsh, Luk Keng is a Hakka hamlet built
by the Chan and Wong clans. The original 13 Chan brothers and their families settled in the area
in 1740. Older generations farmed the land but in recent years the number of villagers has
dwindled. Most of them have abandoned the old village for urban Hong Kong or even overseas,
leaving behind neglected paddy fields and fish ponds. Traces of a bygone heyday can still be
found though and we will visit every corner of the village before we continue along a nice - mostly
level - concrete path at the edge of Starling Inlet.
Kuk means valley and Po means a flat plain at the foot of a mountain. The village of Kuk Po is
situated on the southeastern shore of Starling Inlet. It sits on a vast flat land with slopes on three
sides.
According to accounts given by villagers, the area was originally inhabited by the Cheung clan
who now reside in nearby Fung Hang. This is supported by much of the land in Kuk Po being
owned by the Cheungs. The Cheungs may have been the original inhabitants prior to the 1662
evacuation of the coastal regions under the Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. All coastal
inhabitants had to move fifty li from the coast. Two years later a second evacuation further inland
was ordered. It was not until 1669 that this evacuation was rescinded, and the depopulated coastal
regions could be re-inhabited. The Emperor decreed some financial assistance to help with the
repopulation efforts, and it is probably due to this measure that new comers came to Kuk Po and
surrounding areas to live.
For over three centuries, the Kuk Po area has been inhabited by seven clans, the Sung, Lee, Ho,
Tsang, Cheng, Ng and Yeung. There are a number of smaller villages under the geographical
name Kuk Po, i. e. Hoi Ha , Tin Sam, Lo Wai, San Uk Ha, Yi To, Sam To, Sze To, and Ng To. Some
like Lo Wai and Tin Sam are mixed clan communities, but others are villages of just one clan.
While the inhabitants of Kuk Po generally came from a farming background, the location on the
shores of the bay meant that some took to fishing and the harvesting of shellfish. In the 1950s more
than 500 people lived in the Kuk Po villages, but these days there is only a handful of permanent
residents spread across the plain - with some villages completely empty and in ruins.
There will be plenty of time to explore the old villages, the bird-rich abandoned paddy-fields and
the oyster-shell and mangrove clad shores of the bay at a leisurely pace, before we retrace our
steps back to the bus stop at Luk Keng. En route, we will stop to peek into the two small villages
we passed on our way out...
Once in Luk Keng, you have the choice of hopping straight on to the minibus for Fan Ling and the
train home or to enjoy a light lunch at one of the two small cafés...
Luk Keng, Fung Hang & Kuk Po
鹿頸, 鳳杭 及 谷埔
Located on the edge of Hong Kong's largest freshwater marsh, Luk Keng is a Hakka hamlet built
by the Chan and Wong clans. The original 13 Chan brothers and their families settled in the area
in 1740. Older generations farmed the land but in recent years the number of villagers has
dwindled. Most of them have abandoned the old village for urban Hong Kong or even overseas,
leaving behind neglected paddy fields and fish ponds. Traces of a bygone heyday can still be
found though and we will visit every corner of the village before we continue along a nice - mostly
level - concrete path at the edge of Starling Inlet.
Kuk means valley and Po means a flat plain at the foot of a mountain. The village of Kuk Po is
situated on the southeastern shore of Starling Inlet. It sits on a vast flat land with slopes on three
sides.
According to accounts given by villagers, the area was originally inhabited by the Cheung clan
who now reside in nearby Fung Hang. This is supported by much of the land in Kuk Po being
owned by the Cheungs. The Cheungs may have been the original inhabitants prior to the 1662
evacuation of the coastal regions under the Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. All coastal
inhabitants had to move fifty li from the coast. Two years later a second evacuation further inland
was ordered. It was not until 1669 that this evacuation was rescinded, and the depopulated coastal
regions could be re-inhabited. The Emperor decreed some financial assistance to help with the
repopulation efforts, and it is probably due to this measure that new comers came to Kuk Po and
surrounding areas to live.
For over three centuries, the Kuk Po area has been inhabited by seven clans, the Sung, Lee, Ho,
Tsang, Cheng, Ng and Yeung. There are a number of smaller villages under the geographical
name Kuk Po, i. e. Hoi Ha , Tin Sam, Lo Wai, San Uk Ha, Yi To, Sam To, Sze To, and Ng To. Some
like Lo Wai and Tin Sam are mixed clan communities, but others are villages of just one clan.
While the inhabitants of Kuk Po generally came from a farming background, the location on the
shores of the bay meant that some took to fishing and the harvesting of shellfish. In the 1950s more
than 500 people lived in the Kuk Po villages, but these days there is only a handful of permanent
residents spread across the plain - with some villages completely empty and in ruins.
There will be plenty of time to explore the old villages, the bird-rich abandoned paddy-fields and
the oyster-shell and mangrove clad shores of the bay at a leisurely pace, before we retrace our
steps back to the bus stop at Luk Keng. En route, we will stop to peek into the two small villages
we passed on our way out...
Once in Luk Keng, you have the choice of hopping straight on to the minibus for Fan Ling and the
train home or to enjoy a light lunch at one of the two small cafés...
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