1. The History
There's an interesting backstory how a large fishing village like this came to be like this. As this is a re-visit and I did a lot of research last time around:
"Ma Wan is a fishing village on the small island of the same name sandwiched between Tsing Yi island to the North and the very large Lantau Island to the south. The island with an area of barely a square kilometre in total was very traditional and was famous for fish farming, producing shrimp paste and its many seafood restaurants that Hong Konger's flocked to.
Things changed, however, when the island found itself on the new expressway between the mainland part of HK and the new airport at Lantau, via the Tsing Ma bridge, in the mid 90s. By 2000 the island's population was around 800 but this rocketed with the completion of the Park Island high-rised residential complex, developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties, in 2006 which housed 5,000 families. Displaced residents were offered traditional 3-storey houses on the south side of the island.
Things took a bit of a controversial turn around 2009 when Sun Hung Kai Properties built the Ma Wan theme park featuring a life-size copy of Noah's Arc next to the Park Island. This was used as a pretext for the government to then relocate all the residents in the fishing village elsewhere by compulsorily purchasing their homes, resulting in the ghost town we see today. Some observers saw this as an under-hand way of clearing the south side of the island for a second residential development along the same lines of the Park Island complex. This theory was further supported by the corruption trial of SHKP chairman Thomas Kwok and his brother and co-chairman Raymond Kwok, for allegedly bribing HK Government chief secretary and No.2 in charge, Rafael Hui Si-yan, following their arrest in March 2012. The Kwoks were alleged to have paid Hui tens of millions of dollars to be their "eyes and ears" in government. After a high-profile trail Hui was found guilty in December 2014 and jailed for 7 and a half years. Raymond Kwok was acquitted while his brother was found guilty and jailed for 5 years."
Two year's on very little has changed.
2. The Explore
This was the first place on my list and the first place I visited on arriving back in HK. The site is effectively the same as it was when I visited two years ago. You can visit this place multiple times as the sheer size of the site means there is always something you didn't spot first time around. Some houses are fenced up/sealed tight but many are not so there's endless opportunities for photographs.
3. The Photographs
First place you come to on the path from the modern village. Identical to last time!
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So many empty houses:
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Some open:
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Some not:
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Some empty:
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Others with a few reminders of previous residents:
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Old boat ropes:
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Reminders of the fishing village's past industry:
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Nice tiles!
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Obligatory shopping trolley pic:
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Old grinding stone:
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Some houses have been abandoned prior to the village's exodus:
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Former community centre:
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Former residence of Ma Wan (memorial to?):
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Down by the seafront:
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Nature at the window:
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Bang a drum!
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Decaying chair:
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There's an interesting backstory how a large fishing village like this came to be like this. As this is a re-visit and I did a lot of research last time around:
"Ma Wan is a fishing village on the small island of the same name sandwiched between Tsing Yi island to the North and the very large Lantau Island to the south. The island with an area of barely a square kilometre in total was very traditional and was famous for fish farming, producing shrimp paste and its many seafood restaurants that Hong Konger's flocked to.
Things changed, however, when the island found itself on the new expressway between the mainland part of HK and the new airport at Lantau, via the Tsing Ma bridge, in the mid 90s. By 2000 the island's population was around 800 but this rocketed with the completion of the Park Island high-rised residential complex, developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties, in 2006 which housed 5,000 families. Displaced residents were offered traditional 3-storey houses on the south side of the island.
Things took a bit of a controversial turn around 2009 when Sun Hung Kai Properties built the Ma Wan theme park featuring a life-size copy of Noah's Arc next to the Park Island. This was used as a pretext for the government to then relocate all the residents in the fishing village elsewhere by compulsorily purchasing their homes, resulting in the ghost town we see today. Some observers saw this as an under-hand way of clearing the south side of the island for a second residential development along the same lines of the Park Island complex. This theory was further supported by the corruption trial of SHKP chairman Thomas Kwok and his brother and co-chairman Raymond Kwok, for allegedly bribing HK Government chief secretary and No.2 in charge, Rafael Hui Si-yan, following their arrest in March 2012. The Kwoks were alleged to have paid Hui tens of millions of dollars to be their "eyes and ears" in government. After a high-profile trail Hui was found guilty in December 2014 and jailed for 7 and a half years. Raymond Kwok was acquitted while his brother was found guilty and jailed for 5 years."
Two year's on very little has changed.
2. The Explore
This was the first place on my list and the first place I visited on arriving back in HK. The site is effectively the same as it was when I visited two years ago. You can visit this place multiple times as the sheer size of the site means there is always something you didn't spot first time around. Some houses are fenced up/sealed tight but many are not so there's endless opportunities for photographs.
3. The Photographs
First place you come to on the path from the modern village. Identical to last time!
So many empty houses:
Some open:
Some not:
Some empty:
Others with a few reminders of previous residents:
Old boat ropes:
Reminders of the fishing village's past industry:
Nice tiles!
Obligatory shopping trolley pic:
Old grinding stone:
Some houses have been abandoned prior to the village's exodus:
Former community centre:
Former residence of Ma Wan (memorial to?):
Down by the seafront:
Nature at the window:
Bang a drum!
Decaying chair:
