Lai Chi Wo is an indigenous village near Sha Tau Kok, in the northeastern New Territories of Hong Kong. It is located within the Plover Cove Country Park and near Yan Chau Tong Marine Park. Looking out to Crooked Harbour (Kat O Hoi), the coastal village is famous for its production of litchi, which inspired its name of Lai Chi Wo (literally ‘Litchi Harbour’). The place has been inhabited for nearly 400 years since the 17th century. All inhabitants of Lai Chi Wo belonged to the Wong Hakka family before a branch of the Tsang Hakka family from a nearby village moved in. It has since remained a village of two families. In its heyday, the village was home to more than 1,000 people.
In the 1970s and 1980s, most of the younger residents moved out for a better life in town areas in Hong Kong or elsewhere, leaving the village with older residents and abandoned farmland. It was until recently that Mr. Lam Chiu-ying, former Director of the Hong Kong Observatory, championed the ‘Sustainable Lai Chi Wo’ project, which was intended to revitalize the ancient village. Since 2013, the Kadoorie Institute of the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Countryside Foundation, Produce Green Foundation, The Conservancy Association and the villagers of Lai Chi Wo have been working together on the ‘Sustainable Lai Chi Wo – Agricultural Rehabilitation and Rural Community Building Plan’, which was intended to promote the rehabilitation of agricultural land, preserve the biodiversity of the countryside, and conserve rural culture and natural relics.
The Lai Chi Wo Nature Trail, built by the Hong Kong Global Geopark of China, encircles the traditional Hakka village set along the Lai Chi Wo coast, and through Lai Chi Wo Village and its fung shui woods. Some sections are built with boardwalks, and feature interpretation signs that present the century-old fung shui woods with more than 100 kinds of plants, including the highly distinctive Sundari trees (Heritiera littoralis), Derris alborubra and hollow trees. The village is also home to Lai Chi Wo Geoheritage Centre, which is intended to introduce the local ecology and local geological structure.
Suggested Route:
1. Take green minibus Route No. 20C at MTR Tai Po Market Station Exit A3 > Disembark at Wu Kau Tang Tin Sum Village Terminus > Kau Tam Tso > Sheung Miu Tin > Ha Miu Tin > Sam A Village > Lai Chi Wo
2. Ferry from Ma Liu Shui Pier to Lai Chi Wo (currently only available on Sundays and Public Holidays, departure at 9:00 a.m. and return at 3:30 p.m.)
