Tai O - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Tai O is a fishing town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

, partly located on an island of the same name, on the western side of Lantau Island

Lantau Island

Lantau Island , based on the old local name of Lantau Peak , is the largest island in Hong Kong, located at the mouth of the Pearl River. Administratively, most of Lantau Island is part of the Islands District of Hong Kong...

in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

Geography

On the main part of Lantau Island

Lantau Island

, a river splits to the north and west and at this fork lies the island referred to as Tai O. Two pedestrian bridges cross the river on its northern and western forks. The village is located mostly on the banks of the river. The western and northern parts of the island facing the South China Sea

South China Sea

The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...

are uninhabited.

History

Nearby archaeological sites date back to the Stone Age

Stone Age

The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric period, lasting about 2.5 million years , during which humans and their predecessor species in the genus Homo, as well as the earlier partly contemporary genera Australopithecus and Paranthropus, widely used exclusively stone as their hard material in the...

, but permanent, and verifiable, human settlement here is only three centuries old. Stories that would be impossible to substantiate have Tai O as the base of many smuggling and piracy operations, the inlets of the river providing excellent protection from the weather and a hiding place. In early 16th century, Tai O was once occupied shortly by Portuguese

Portuguese people

The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....

during Battle of Tãmão

Battle of Tamao

There were two battles of Tamao, the first one fought in 1521, and the second fought in 1522. The battles were fought at sea, with the Chinese Imperial Navy defeating the Portuguese navy in both battles.* First Battle of Tamao...

. At nearby Fan Lau

Fan Lau

Fan Lau is peninsula and area in the southwest tip of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. It is also the southwest end the territory of Hong Kong. The very end of the tip is Fan Lau Kok . The peninsula separates water into Fan Lau Tung Wan in the east, and Fan Lau Sai Wan and Fan Lau Miu Wan Fan Lau...

, a fort

Fan Lau Fort

Fan Lau Fort is a fort in Fan Lau, the southwest corner of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. It is a declared a monument of Hong Kong.-History:...

was built in 1729 to protect shipping on the Pearl River

Pearl River (China)

The Pearl River or less commonly, the "Guangdong River" or "Canton River" etc., , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name Pearl River is usually used as a catchment term to refer to the watersheds of the Xi Jiang , the Bei Jiang , and the Dong Jiang...

. Smuggling of guns, tobacco, drugs and people remains a documented illegal activity both into and out of mainland China

Mainland China

Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...

.

When the British came to Hong Kong, Tai O was known as a Tanka

Tanka (ethnic group)

The Tankas or Boat people is a special group of people in Southern China that has traditionally lived on junks in coastal parts of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Hainan, and Zhejiang provinces, as well as Hong Kong and Macau...

village. During and after the Chinese Civil War

Chinese Civil War

The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...

, Tai O became a primary entrypoint for illegal immigration

Illegal immigration

Illegal immigration is the migration into a nation in violation of the immigration laws of that jurisdiction. Illegal immigration raises many political, economical and social issues and has become a source of major controversy in developed countries and the more successful developing countries.In...

for those escaping from the People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. Some of these immigrants, mostly Han Chinese

Han Chinese

Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

, stayed in Tai O, and Tai O attracted people from other Hong Kong ethnic groups, including Hoklo

Hoklo people

The Hoklo people are Han Chinese people whose traditional Ancestral homes are in southern Fujian of South China...

(Hokkien) and Hakka

Hakka people

The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....

.

Tai O has a history of salt production. In 1940, it was recorded that the Tai Po salt marsh

Salt marsh

A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...

es were covering 70 acres (283,280.2 m²) and that the production has amounted to 25,000 piculs (1,512 metric tons

Tonne

The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...

) in 1938.

Currently the fishing lifestyle is dying out. While many residents continue to fish, it barely provides a subsistence income. There is a public school on the island and most young people move away when they come of age. In 2000 a large fire broke out destroying many residences. The village is now mostly squatters huts and dilapidated stilt houses.

Built heritage

There are two graded buildings

Heritage conservation in Hong Kong

This article details the history and status of Heritage conservation in Hong Kong, as well as the role of various stakeholders.An indication of the size of the built heritage in Hong Kong is given by a territory-wide survey conducted by the Antiquities and Monuments Office between 1996 and 2000,...

in Tai O:

Yeung Hau Temple, built in 1699 (Grade I)
Old Tai O Police Station
Old Tai O Police Station
The Old Tai O Police Station is a former police station in Hong Kong. It is located on the small hill next to Tai O Ferry Pier, at the south-western tip of Tai O, which canbe considered the very west part within Hong Kong.-History:...

. (Grade III)

Other historical buildings include:

Kwan Tai Temple, Kat Hing Back Street. Built in 1741.
Tin Hau Temple
Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong
Over 70 temples are dedicated to Tin Hau in Hong Kong. They include:* Tin Hau temple, located at 10 Tin Hau Temple Road, Causeway Bay, east of Victoria Park, in Eastern District, on Hong Kong Island. It is a declared monument. The temple has given its name to the MTR station serving it .* The Tin...

, Kat Hing Back Street. Built in 1772, it is connected to the left of Kwan Tai Temple
Hip Wo Se Hok, No. 151 Tai Ping Street, a former school
Hung Shing Temple, Shek Tsai Po Street. Built in 1746.

Tourism

Also known as the "Venice of Hong Kong", Tai O is also a hot tourist spot for both foreigners and residents of other parts of Hong Kong, despite damage by a fire in July 2000. The pang uk
Pang uk
Pang uk is a kind of stilt house found in Tai O, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Pang uk are built on water or on small beaches....

s, a kind of stilt house

Stilt house

Stilt houses or pile dwellings or palafitte are houses raised on piles over the surface of the soil or a body of water. Stilt houses are built primarily as a protection against flooding, but also serve to keep out vermin...

, built right over the waterway are still quite scenic. A rope bridge tended by local women used to be quite popular with visitors, but it has been replaced with a steel pedestrian bridge in October 1996.

The traditional salted fish and shrimp paste

Shrimp paste

Shrimp paste or shrimp sauce, is a common ingredient used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisine. It is known as terasi in Indonesian, ngapi in Burmese, kapi in Thai, Khmer and Lao language, belacan in Malay, mắm ruốc, mắm tép and mắm tôm in...

and storefronts at Tai O. For a small fee, some residents will take tourists out on their boats along the river and for short jaunts into the sea. Many tourists come to Tai O specifically to take these trips to see Chinese white dolphin

Chinese White Dolphin

The Chinese white dolphin is a humpback dolphin species, one of eighty cetacean species. An adult is white or pink and may appear as an albino dolphin to some. Uniquely, the population along the Chinese coast has pink skin. Pink skin is not pigment, but blood vessels for thermoregulation...

s. It is also a good place to see the sunset.

Schools

There are two Kindergartens, one Primary School and one Secondary School. They are CCC Tai O Primary School and Buddhist Fat Ho Memorial College.

Transport

Tai O can be reached by bus (New Lantau Bus) from the following places:

Mui Wo
Mui Wo
Mui Wo is a rural town on the eastern coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The main beach in Mui Wo is known as Silver Mine Bay .-History:...

- Bus no. 1
Tung Chung
Tung Chung
Tung Chung, meaning 'eastern stream', is an area situated on the north-western coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. Tung Chung, currently one of the latest generation of new towns, was formerly a rural village around Tung Chung Wan, and along the delta and lower courses of Tung Chung River and Ma...

- Bus no 11
Ngong Ping
Ngong Ping
Ngong Ping is a highland in the western part of Lantau Island, Hong Kong. It hosts Po Lin Monastery and Tian Tan Buddha amidst the hills which is about 34 m tall. There are many hills nearby which are also an attraction to tourists. It is now the terminus of the cable car ride Ngong Ping Cable...

. - Bus no 21

There are ferry piers on Tai O, close to Tai O Bus Terminus. It operates daily as the following routes connecting Tai O:

Tuen Mun
Tuen Mun
Tuen Mun is a town near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in Hong Kong which can be dated back to the Neolithic period. In the more recent past, it was home to many Tanka fishermen who gathered at the Castle...
Tung Chung
Sha Lo Wan
Sha Lo Wan
Sha Lo Wan is a bay in the northwest Lantau Island, Hong Kong. The bay faces north to Hong Kong International Airport. The area is occupied by indigenous inhabitants. There is no road access to area and thus their communication is on foot or by ferry. Because of its inconvenience to urban area,...
Tai O

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.