The Only Thing Left in Yuen Chau Kok — Wong Uk of Shatin in Hong Kong

In a time of glory long bygone, Yuen Chau Kok of Shatin was a waterfront area with ocean access. Most of the south Shatin Sea (Tide Cove) was filled by the Hong Kong Government’s reclamation efforts during the 1970s, a time that I have no personal memory of. Its name meaning “the House of the Wongs,” Wong Uk belonged to the Wong Clan, who came to Hong Kong during the Qianlong reign of the Qing dynasty (1736-1795) from Xingping in Guangdong. Wong Uk was once a village, like so many other walled villages of Hong Kong. The Old House of Wong Uk was built by the 19th generation of the ancestor Wong Tsing-wo circa 1911. In its heyday, the Wong Uk Tsuen Village was bustling with visitors. Travelers and merchants carrying goods for trade often stopped in this part of Hong Kong as a rest stop enroute between Guangdong and Kowloon. The Wongs had once built a hotel next to the Old House of Wong Uk to provide accommodation, and it had booming business. After the reclamation efforts of the late 1970s, the Hong Kong Government then began to resume the ponds and agricultural land for development in Shatin. With many of the villagers moving out as well, the Old House of Wong Uk became the only of what remains in the former Wong Uk Tsuen Village in Yuen Chau Kok now. I think Wong Uk has been well-restored. The rear hall now houses a very simple exhibition (basically, four large posters) that explained the story of Wong Uk well with a good and simple narrative. #wonguk #wongs #villagehouse #vernaculararchitecture #hongkonghistory #shatin #hongkongheritage #historicalhouse #travel#china