Castle Peak Beach () is a gazetted beach in

Tuen Mun Tuen Mun or Castle Peak is an area near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in what is now Hong Kong and can be dated to the Neolithic period. In the more re ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, beside

Sam Shing Estate Sam Shing Estate () is a public housing estate in Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong, near Light Rail Sam Shing stop and Castle Peak Beach. Built on the reclaimed land of Castle Peak Bay, it is the third public housing estate in Tuen Mun and t ...

. It looks onto

Castle Peak Bay Castle Peak Bay is a bay outside Tuen Mun. Tuen Mun River empties into the bay. In the past, many Tanka fishermen harboured at the bay. In 1513, explorer Jorge Álvares arrived in the Pearl River Delta and started a Portuguese settlement, Ta ...

and the Tuen Mun

typhoon shelter A typhoon shelter () is a shelter for fishing boats during typhoons. These facilities are often found in Hong Kong. Structure In its usual form, a typhoon shelter is in the form of a bay or a cove, with a narrow opening for access, as most of t ...

, although it is separated from the typhoon shelter by a breakwater. The beach comprises 2.97 hectares and has a swimming zone of 0.8 hectares protected by a shark net. It was closed from 1981 to 2005 due to water pollution. In the summer months it is staffed by lifeguards of the

Leisure and Cultural Services Department The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), is a department in the Government of Hong Kong. It reports to the Culture, Sports & Tourism Bureau, headed by the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism. It provides leisure and cultural ...

(LCSD).

History

Historically, the beach was known as Yung Lung Beach () and was a very attractive place for swimming. It was closed for swimming in 1981 due to poor water quality. In September 1983, the beach was badly damaged by a typhoon that caused the loss of sand and trees. In November 1994, the Tuen Mun District Board made a request to open the beach for swimming and leisure. In response, the Regional Council built several facilities at a cost of HK$97 million including a barbecue area, a sitting-out area, a children's play area, and a two-storey beach building with toilets, changing rooms and showers. In November 1999, the beach was handed over to the

Regional Services Department Regional Services Department () was a government department in Hong Kong, under the Broadcasting, Culture and Sport Branch. It carried out the policies and managed the facilities of the former Regional Council. After being abolished with the ...

. However, the beach was still not opened for swimming owing to a layer of mud and refuse on the seabed. In May 2000, the beach facilities were opened to public use, though the water remained off-limits. From December 2001 to August 2002, the then- Civil Engineering Department (CED) undertook dredging and sand-filling works at a cost of $1.9 million. The layer of soft mud was removed to improve the water quality. However, in October 2002, the CED reported that the beach was still not suitable for swimming, and the LCSD decided the beach would continue to be closed. Other attempts to improve water quality were made over the years. In 1993, a new trunk sewer was built along Castle Peak Road, from So Kwun Wat to Sam Shing Estate, directing sewage from the hinterland to the Pillar Point Sewage Treatment Works. Additionally, the North Western Water Control Zone was declared under the

Water Pollution Control Ordinance Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...

, controlling pollution. In 1999, a longer submarine outfall came into operation at the Pillar Point Sewage Treatment Works, directing effluent farther away from the beaches. In the early 2000s, two dry weather flow interceptors were installed along the

Tuen Mun River The Tuen Mun River is a river in Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong. It has many tributaries, with major ones coming from Lam Tei, Kau Keng Shan, Hung Shui Hang and Nai Wai. It flows south, bisecting Tuen Mun New Town. It eventually feeds int ...

, which discharges into Castle Peak Bay, to intercept village sewage and other pollutants before it reaches the river. A shark net was installed on 24 May 2005. After 24 years of closure, the beach was reopened for swimming on 1 June 2005.

Facilities

* BBQ pits (27 nos.) * Changing rooms and showers * Restaurant * Toilets

Statistics

In 2019, the LCSD estimated that Castle Peak Beach saw 176,690 visitors during the bathing season. This makes it the least-visited among Tuen Mun District's six gazetted beaches.

Water quality

Castle Peak had the highest mean ''

E. coli ''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...

'' levels of all 41 beaches monitored by the

Environmental Protection Department Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is a department of Hong Kong Government concerning the issues of environmental protection in Hong Kong.The EPD is responsible for developing policies covering environmental protection, nature conserva ...

during the 2019 bathing season. In 2019, the water quality hovered between Grade 2 (Fair) and Grade 3 (Poor) on the four-point Beach Grading System of the Environmental Protection Department, dipping to Grade 1 (Very Poor) on one day only.

Transport

The beach is within walking distance of Sam Shing stop of the Light Rail network. There is also a franchised bus stop beside the beach served by

Kowloon Motor Bus The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes. It is a subsidiary of Transport International. ...

Long Win Bus Long Win Bus Company Limited (LWB; ) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It provides bus service between Hong Kong International Airport, North Lantau New Town and the New Territories. It is a subsidiary of Transport In ...

MTR Bus MTR Bus is a public bus service in Hong Kong operated by the MTR Corporation. It serves the northwestern part of the New Territories. Also known as MTR Feeder Bus (previously operated by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation as KCR Feeder B ...

, and Citybus.

References