1. The History
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 HKer’s flocked to.
In the 80s the population of the island was around the 2,000 mark. Things changed, however, in 1989 when the government announced the island would form part of the main route between the mainland part of HK and the new airport at Lantau, via the Tsing Ma bridge. Completed in the mid-90s, what could have been Ma Wan’s salvation turned into a false dawn as it proved ‘physically impossible’ to connect Ma Wan to the new super highway. This was partly redressed by the subsequent back-tracking by the government and the construction of an access road in 1994.
By 2000 the island's population was around 800 but this rocketed with the completion of the HK12.5bn Park Island high-rise 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 then took a bit of a controversial turn. Around 2009 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 remaining residents in the fishing village elsewhere via a compulsorily purchasing order on 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 motive was further supported by the corruption trial of SHKP chairman Thomas Kwok and his brother and co-chairman Raymond Kwok, for allegedly bribing the then HK Government chief secretary and No.2 in charge, Rafael Hui Si-yan. They were arrested in March 2012 with the Kwok brothers being alleged to have paid Hui tens of millions of HK 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." Harvard-educated Raymond remains chairman and MD of SHKP. His brother was release from prison in March 2019 and returned to Sun Hung Kai property empire after jail term. Ma Wan fishing village remains abandoned and in a state of decay while the other side of the island booms, increasing the island’s population to approximately 10,000.
2. The Explore
Love this place as it’s been my go-to place to explore on my annual trips to HK. It’s remarkable for its sheer size and a revisit always reveals something you didn’t see the last time you went. I can remember it pre its ghost town existence and have been a number of times subsequently, to experience the stark contrast. It’s always a relaxed explore as, despite the signage, nobody seems to bothered about if you have a wander round. Really missed going to HK last Summer for my annual visit here. Hopefully will get back here soon.
3. The Pictures
Here’s a selection of the best pictures I’ve taken over my handful of visits.
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 HKer’s flocked to.
In the 80s the population of the island was around the 2,000 mark. Things changed, however, in 1989 when the government announced the island would form part of the main route between the mainland part of HK and the new airport at Lantau, via the Tsing Ma bridge. Completed in the mid-90s, what could have been Ma Wan’s salvation turned into a false dawn as it proved ‘physically impossible’ to connect Ma Wan to the new super highway. This was partly redressed by the subsequent back-tracking by the government and the construction of an access road in 1994.
By 2000 the island's population was around 800 but this rocketed with the completion of the HK12.5bn Park Island high-rise 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 then took a bit of a controversial turn. Around 2009 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 remaining residents in the fishing village elsewhere via a compulsorily purchasing order on 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 motive was further supported by the corruption trial of SHKP chairman Thomas Kwok and his brother and co-chairman Raymond Kwok, for allegedly bribing the then HK Government chief secretary and No.2 in charge, Rafael Hui Si-yan. They were arrested in March 2012 with the Kwok brothers being alleged to have paid Hui tens of millions of HK 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." Harvard-educated Raymond remains chairman and MD of SHKP. His brother was release from prison in March 2019 and returned to Sun Hung Kai property empire after jail term. Ma Wan fishing village remains abandoned and in a state of decay while the other side of the island booms, increasing the island’s population to approximately 10,000.
2. The Explore
Love this place as it’s been my go-to place to explore on my annual trips to HK. It’s remarkable for its sheer size and a revisit always reveals something you didn’t see the last time you went. I can remember it pre its ghost town existence and have been a number of times subsequently, to experience the stark contrast. It’s always a relaxed explore as, despite the signage, nobody seems to bothered about if you have a wander round. Really missed going to HK last Summer for my annual visit here. Hopefully will get back here soon.
3. The Pictures
Here’s a selection of the best pictures I’ve taken over my handful of visits.
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