Published in 2012
Originally named “Shek Pik Tsuen”, the 600 years old village is unique as it is the only village located right inside the city. The village used to stand at where the Shek Pik Reservoir is now, on the southeast corner of Lantau Island. The nineclan village had a population of about 200 originally, and they mostly farmed and fished for a living.
In the late 1950s, the government decided to build Shek Pik Reservoir to solve problems of water shortages. Shek Pik Tsuen was uprooted and rebuilt in Tsuen Wan because the location selected to construct the reservoir was where the village stood. The relocation process began and some 500 villagers were moved by ferries to the current village site on the 22nd of November 1960.
The new village had six five-story residential buildings, all built on newly reclaimed land. The school located in the old village was relocated to the new village as well. However, out of the six residential buildings, two had been torn down and the old Shek Pik School had also closed and became the village hall eventually. Hung Shing Temple and Hau Wong Temple which guarded the old village were merged into the Hung Hau Ancient Temple, which was unique as the temple altar is not on the ground floor. There are many old relics inside the temple, for example a bronze bell from Qing Qianlong’s era and a wooden table from Qing Jiaqing’s era. The villagers still celebrate many traditional festivals including the village birthday on the 4th Day of the 10th Moon, Chung Yeung and Mid-Autumn festivals. The village also continued with customs such as an annual holiday trip and pork sharing.
