Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hakka woman at Kat Hing Wai
Alex Havret/Apa Publications
Kat Hing Wai village is built in a square, and the only way in is through a gate in the de-
fensive wall, now guarded by senior village ladies clad in traditional black Hakka garments,
wearing functional Hakka bamboo hats, with black fringes that provide excellent protection
from both sun and tropical rain. Kat Hing Wai was built four or five centuries ago, also by
the Tang clan. Many of the old houses inside the walled village have been replaced by mod-
ern structures.
The Tang clan's earliest walled village was
Lo Wai
, northeast of Fanling (MTR), which
also has its defensive wall intact. Adjacent to the village is the restored
Tang Chung Ling
Ancestral Hall
w
[map]
(open Wed-Mon 9am-1pm and 2-5pm), which dates from the
early 16th century. Few traditional ancestral halls remain in China since the Cultural Re-
volution, so these New Territories ancestral halls are rare survivors. Another such hall, be-
longing to the Liu Clan, is
Liu Man Shek Tong
e
[map]
in the village of Sheung Shui, and
is a 15-minute walk from the MTR station.
