1. The History
Located on the third largest island of Hong Kong, Lamma Island, Luk Chau Tsuen fishing village can be found on the north-east coast. “Luk Chau” literally means “deer islet,” as apparently the village was rumoured to be home to barking deer. It is access by speedboat from Aberdeen (15-minute ride) or around a 40-minutes on foot from Sok Kwu. Its original inhabitants were farmers and fishermen who originated from Baoan in Shenzhen. In 1911, the population the village numbered 54. By 2018, the village was home to just a dozen families. Post COVID, that has dropped further.
Beyond that, there’s very little history.
2. The Explore
No visit to HK would be complete without a trip to one of the territory’s many ghost villages. I’ve done a few on previous visits, including:
Ma Wan (Tsing Yi)
Sha Lo Tung (Tai Po)
Yim Tin Tsai (Island)
Luk Teng Chan Uk (New Territories)
Find ourselves visiting friends on Lamma Island in Yung Shue Wan, I’d seen an old fishing village on the island. Once I Google Mapped it, it said it was a 3km/45-minute hike. So I excused myself for a couple of hours and off I set. Normally 3km isn’t an issue. But in the afternoon heat of a HK Summer it feels more like 10km! I finally arrived at the village covered in sweat and insect bites. In the articles I’d seen of the place (dating back to 2018) there were two abandoned houses which looked really interesting from the photos. Sadly, both of these houses were now locked up so it made the trip slightly underwhelming. However, it was still an interesting wander and I got enough pictures to merit a report.
While some of the houses appeared to be “looked after”, I didn’t see a single person either on the hike up there and back nor the 40 or so minutes I spent poking around the place.
3. The Pictures
After a hot sweaty hike we finally arrive at Luk Chau Tsuen:
First up, this place:
Sadly no way in so just a sneak peek:
Shame, as it looked good:
This place is well gone:
An old bike:
Round back to the far side and this far-gone terrace of houses:
The door’s open so in we pop:
This place is far far gone:
Storage tubs:
This room must have been the kitchen:
And the property next to it. Looks promising:
And one along, the staircase is even worse!
Not too sure about the electrics either:
Anyone for rice?
Maybe not!
Loving the old rusting tray:
So this is what we were really interested in. This mixed Chinese-western style house with art deco overtones. It was once home to a wealthy family, who shipped European furniture to the home with an eye on turning it into a luxury property. It has now stood empty for some time and the family has apparently moved abroad and abandoned it. It is now locked up so no internals sadly:
A quick look at this place:
And finally, down to the sea and a quick look back over to Waterfall Bay on the southern coast of Hong Kong Island:
That's all folks!!!
Located on the third largest island of Hong Kong, Lamma Island, Luk Chau Tsuen fishing village can be found on the north-east coast. “Luk Chau” literally means “deer islet,” as apparently the village was rumoured to be home to barking deer. It is access by speedboat from Aberdeen (15-minute ride) or around a 40-minutes on foot from Sok Kwu. Its original inhabitants were farmers and fishermen who originated from Baoan in Shenzhen. In 1911, the population the village numbered 54. By 2018, the village was home to just a dozen families. Post COVID, that has dropped further.
Beyond that, there’s very little history.
2. The Explore
No visit to HK would be complete without a trip to one of the territory’s many ghost villages. I’ve done a few on previous visits, including:
Ma Wan (Tsing Yi)
Sha Lo Tung (Tai Po)
Yim Tin Tsai (Island)
Luk Teng Chan Uk (New Territories)
Find ourselves visiting friends on Lamma Island in Yung Shue Wan, I’d seen an old fishing village on the island. Once I Google Mapped it, it said it was a 3km/45-minute hike. So I excused myself for a couple of hours and off I set. Normally 3km isn’t an issue. But in the afternoon heat of a HK Summer it feels more like 10km! I finally arrived at the village covered in sweat and insect bites. In the articles I’d seen of the place (dating back to 2018) there were two abandoned houses which looked really interesting from the photos. Sadly, both of these houses were now locked up so it made the trip slightly underwhelming. However, it was still an interesting wander and I got enough pictures to merit a report.
While some of the houses appeared to be “looked after”, I didn’t see a single person either on the hike up there and back nor the 40 or so minutes I spent poking around the place.
3. The Pictures
After a hot sweaty hike we finally arrive at Luk Chau Tsuen:
First up, this place:
Sadly no way in so just a sneak peek:
Shame, as it looked good:
This place is well gone:
An old bike:
Round back to the far side and this far-gone terrace of houses:
The door’s open so in we pop:
This place is far far gone:
Storage tubs:
This room must have been the kitchen:
And the property next to it. Looks promising:
And one along, the staircase is even worse!
Not too sure about the electrics either:
Anyone for rice?
Maybe not!
Loving the old rusting tray:
So this is what we were really interested in. This mixed Chinese-western style house with art deco overtones. It was once home to a wealthy family, who shipped European furniture to the home with an eye on turning it into a luxury property. It has now stood empty for some time and the family has apparently moved abroad and abandoned it. It is now locked up so no internals sadly:
A quick look at this place:
And finally, down to the sea and a quick look back over to Waterfall Bay on the southern coast of Hong Kong Island:
That's all folks!!!
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