Kat Hing Wai (吉慶圍) is a famous Punti

Punti

The Punti, a rough transliteration of the Cantonese term for "original locality," refers to the Cantonese-speaking populations of Guangdong province in southern China...

 walled village

Walled villages of Hong Kong

Once common throughout China, walled villages can still be found in southern China and Hong Kong. Most of the walled villages in Hong Kong are located in the New Territories...

 in Yuen Long District

Yuen Long

Yuen Long , formerly Un Long, is an area and town located in the northwest of Hong Kong, on the Yuen Long Plain. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin, and to the north Nam Sang Wai.-Name:The Cantonese name Yuen Long 元朗...

 of 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...

. It often mistakenly believed to be 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....

, whose people have similar traditions. However the Punti people were from Southern China and the first to settle in Hong Kong. Kat Hing Wai's residents speak the Cantonese dialect Weitou dialect, rather than Hakka. Popularly known as Kam Tin

Kam Tin

Kam Tin , or Kam Tin Heung , is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It is north of Tai Mo Shan and east of Yuen Long. It was formerly known as Sham Tin...

, from the name of the area, it is home to about 400 descendants of the Tang Clan

Tang Clan

The Tang Clan is one of the Great Five Clans of Hong Kong. The others are Man , Hau , Pang and Liu . The Tangs originated from Jishui of Jiangxi province and are considered to be native Hong Kong people, as they were the first immigrants to settle in what is now Hong Kong from what is now...

, one of the "Five Great Clans" in the territory, who built the village back in the 17th century. Three other walled villages, Wing Lung Wai

Wing Lung Wai

Wing Lung Wai is a walled village located in the Kam Tin area of Yuen Long District, in Hong Kong. Three other walled villages, Kat Hing Wai, Tai Hong Wai , and Kam Hing Wai are located nearby and were built around the same time.-History:The village was founded was founded by Tang Siu-kui and...

, Tai Hong Wai (泰康圍), and Kam Hing Wai (錦慶圍) are located nearby and were built around the same time.

History

Kat Hing Wai was established during the reign of Chenghua

Chenghua Emperor

The Chenghua Emperor was Emperor of the Ming dynasty in China, between 1464 and 1487. His era name means "Accomplished change".-Childhood:Born Zhu Jianshen, he was the Zhengtong Emperor's son. He was only 2 years old when his father, the Zhengtong emperor, was captured by the Oirat Mongols and...

 (1464–1487) of the Ming Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history", was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...

. The walls enclosing Kat Hing Wai were built by Tang Chue-yin (鄧珠彥) and Tang Chik-kin (鄧直見) in the early years of the Kangxi

Kangxi Emperor

The Kangxi Emperor ; Manchu: elhe taifin hūwangdi ; Mongolian: Энх-Амгалан хаан, 4 May 1654 –20 December 1722) was the fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the first to be born on Chinese soil south of the Pass and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722.Kangxi's...

 reign (1661–1722) of the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

.

In April 1899, the residents of Kam Tin rebelled against British Colonial rule. They defended themselves in Kat Hing Wai. After several unsuccessful attacks by British troops, the iron gates were blasted open. The gates were then shipped to London for exhibition. After the demand of the Tang Clan in 1924, the gate was eventually returned in 1925 by the 16th governor, Sir Reginald Stubbs

Reginald Edward Stubbs

Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs, GCMG was a British colonial governor, who was once the Governor of Hong Kong...

.

Features

Kat Hing Wai is a rectangular (100 m × 90 m) walled village. As a family stronghold, Kat Hing Wai has served the Tangs well through the centuries, protecting the residents against bandits, rival clans

Chinese clan

A Chinese clan is a patrilineal and patrilocal group of related Chinese people with a common surname sharing a common ancestor and, in many cases, an ancestral home.-Description:...

, and wild tigers. In the Qing Dynasty, a five-metre high blue brick wall and four cannon towers were added to defend against bandits. Today, the village is still completely surrounded by 18-inch-thick walls, outside which are the remains of a moat. However, most houses within the walls have been rebuilt in recent years. There is only one narrow entrance, with a pair of iron gates that were once removed to Britain when the villagers rebelled against British colonial rule and of which only one was eventually returned. The current standing gates are a mismatched pair, the left hand side originally belongs to Tai Hong Wai and was given to Kat Hing Wai as a gift upon the gates return.

Conservation

Kat Hing Wai is a private property and the Government has not yet obtained the consent of its owners to declare it as a monument

Declared monuments of Hong Kong

Declared monuments of Hong Kong are places, structures or buildings legally declared to be "protected". In Hong Kong, declaring a monument requires consulting the Antiquities Advisory Board, the approval of the Chief Executive as well as the publication of the notice in government gazette.As of 12...

.

Access

Route: Kam Sheung Road Station or Kowloon Motor Bus

Kowloon Motor Bus

The Kowloon Motor Bus Company Limited , a company of the Transport International Holdings Limited, is the largest franchised bus operators in Hong Kong, and one of the largest privately owned public bus operators in the world...

bus routes 51, 54, 64K and 251M.

External links

• Kat Hing Wai (personal page)