village focus
village people
Welcome to Sheung Sze Wan Robyn Ma visits Sheung Sze Wan, a carefree village with beautiful coastlines.
The beauty of Sheung Sze Wan Beach, (inset): Rows of ivory and tan houses in the village
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egend says that there were once two lovers engaged in a forbidden love which their parents were strongly against. One day, the couple escaped to the beach and drowned themselves - hence the name, Sheung Sze Wan, which translates directly to ‘missing one another’. Not your typical village, an array of residential complexes instead of the conventional archaic houses can be seen as you walk further into the village. Rows of ivory and tan houses compliment the lush green mountains surrounding it. Well known for its beach, and rightly so, the water is glistening clear - a strong contrast to many of the beaches on Hong Kong Island. Nicky Anderson, an expatriate who has lived in the village for more than eight years, compares the village to “somewhere as exotic as Thailand or Bali, if not nicer”. Taking full advantage of the surrounding beauty, residents like to engage in fishing and often take up watersports such as paddle boarding, canoeing and water-skiing. With the ocean being one of the unique aspects of the village, it’s no surprise that Sheung Sze Wan is home to an abundance of marine life. Under the grey ashen bridge connecting the beach to
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the village lies a small stream with a multitude of sea creatures with the likes of turtles, carps and starfish. Apart from its wealth of marine life, mammals including wild boars and monkeys are regularly seen roaming around the village. Sheung Sze Wan is a tight-knit community with residents looking out for each other and organising events to promote the vitality of the village. Sheung Sze Wan residents are always eager to get together and celebrate all occasions. Jenny Smith, a long-time resident organises several events, for example beach clean-ups and barbecues, as well as a British street party to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday, Christmas parties for the kids and a first aid course for helpers. Resident Adri Blumberg teaches fellow residents to make arts and crafts; a row of mosaictiled covers can be seen covering the house’s letterboxes, making it a very colourful village. Following the spirit of the community, Chinese locals often invite expats to the provincial village hall in celebration of traditional Chinese festivals. A small cemetery is located in the village where local Chinese residents visit during Ching Ming festival to sweep the graves. On the day before the festival, Chinese villagers go to the graveyard and prepare the area for its ceremonial
traditions with expats lending a hand. However, the village’s natural landscape might not remain forever. It now faces keen residential developers. As individuals are developing the land in favour of additional residential complexes, more and more of its beauty is under threat. “They’re clearing all the land and I think they have permission for 15 village houses,” says Anderson. “I know the law in Hong Kong gives indigenous villagers the right to a plot of land but at some point that’s going to have to stop because there’s not much land left. It would be great for Sheung Sze Wan to stay as it is but I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Let’s hope the beauty of Sheung Sze Wan remains in the midst of the developments. Want to have your village featured? Email editorial@fastmedia.com.hk
How to get to Sheung Sze Wan • Take a taxi from Hang Hau, costs $60. • Take 103M minibus from Tseung Kwan O Hospital, alight at Sheung Sze Wan, costs $8.5.