16 Cheung Yuet Han, Helen

The secret in Nam sang wai

basic facts

It is located in the north part of Yuen Long, which is surrounded by Kam Tin River and Shan Pui River. Nearby is Hong Kong Wetland Park and Mai Po, which are all rich in ecological values. Including Nam Sang Wai, they all have significant values in ecology and conservation as they are the places that the migratory birds will pass by on their way to the south, like the black-faced spoonbill. Also, the wetland and mangrove forests provide a natural habitat for the species to live in.

charming point for this place :D

When you walk along Nam Sang Wai Road, for me I was riding in my trip, you can see the industrial estate over the river on one side and wild area on another side. It is a great chance for you to stay in a natural environment without going out so far from the urban. Moreover, there are some abandoned houses and fishponds, which form a unique picture and ecosystem for its own. On my way of riding, I could see some birds showing up in the river, and sometimes I found the ways to achieve an area, which seemed like a family house with its own fishing ponds and of course they are abandoned now. It is quite exciting to see the houses remained as we can have a chance to look at the past way of living. Visiting Nam Sang Wai can satisfy your wish of finding history and enjoying the view of nature.

These 13 pictures showed in the above slideshow are taken in one of the abandoned houses in Nam Sang Wai. Before I arrived the house, I had to walk through a road filled with grass. The place is seemed to be having two or three family houses living in there as there were two foundations of houses remained without the bodies. After passing through the ruined buildings and a little way road, I arrived the house.
The structure of the house is quite complete, as you can see the kitchen in the ground floor,as there are three stoves, and the room, probably the bedroom, on the upper floor. Outside the house, there is a place seemed like toilet as there are several Chinese-style toilets. Since there are three stoves and four toilets, it seems like the people in the past would share the kitchen and toilet for several families.

history of this place

According to the Planning department of HKSAR, part of this place, with Mai Po and San Tin were mainly swampland and marshes before 1900. In 1930s, Nam Sang Wai had been reclaimed for cultivation by cutting down the mangrove forest and building ponds. It had been used to cultivate brackish water rice paddies, shallow shrimp and fishes. By the 1960s, it was mainly for cultivating deep-water fish with some vegetation. By the 1980s, it was mainly for fish farming. However, since the conservation of the economy, the fish farming became less significant and there were several amounts of the fish ponds being filled for urban or semi-urban development, like the Fairview Park, Yuen Long Industrial Estate and Tin Shui Wai New Town.

Nam Sang Wai is owned by the Fu family, which formed the Nam Sang Wai Development Company Limited for developing this land. During 1965 to 1968, the company was allowed for the residential and commercial development by the government, although there were no actual movements at that time. In 1990s, after the acquisition of half of the stake of the company, Henderson Land Development Company Limited proposed to the government for developing a golf course and residential use. However, it has been banned by the Town Planning Board. Although the Fu family retained to be the manager of the development plan of Nam Sang Wai and proposed a new one in early 2011, it is still not success for it to develop the land.

Importance

Nam Sang Wai is so important in two perspectives, one is its economic value and one is its ecological value.

Since Nam Sam Wai is composed of abandoned fishponds and waterways, it is a large piece of land, which can have multi-purpose use. For example, it has been planned to become a golf course. Also, the residential need in Hong Kong is so high that it will be probably beneficial to build up residential houses. Besides, Hong Kong has high demand for land for its rapid and continuous growth. Nam Sang Wai will be a place to satisfy the demands as it is likely to be developed for residential and recreational use for economic benefits.

Nam Sang Wai is composed of many fishponds and wetlands, crisscrossed by two rivers. The ecological value is so high as the environment is suitable for many kinds of species to live. Actually, this place is located in the Wetland Conservation Area, which is supposed to be conserved for the wetland ecosystem in that area. Moreover, this place has been assessed for at least 40 percent of bird species, which is 54 out of 130, being recorded in the development site at Nam Sang Wai are of conservation importance.

how to get this place?

You can get started from Yuen Long MTR station, choose the exit G2, take a bus 76K or minibus 36, 37, 38, 75, 76 to Hung Mo Kiu and then walk to Nam Sang Wai Road.
Besides, you can choose to walk from MTR station or rent a bicycle to ride from the city center.

After you have walked around this place, you can also try the Nam Sang Wai ferry, as it is now the only river-crossing ferry in Hong Kong.

The secre﻿t in Nam sang wai