Kuk Po is an area situated in the north eastern

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

of Hong Kong, to the south of the

Starling Inlet Starling Inlet or Sha Tau Kok Hoi () is a harbour in northeast New Territories, Hong Kong. The whole body of water falls within the Closed Area and generally restricted to local residents. Features Settlements around the harbour include: Sha Ta ...

(Shataukok Hoi, Sha Tau Kok Hoi), opposite the town of

Sha Tau Kok Sha Tau Kok is a closed city, closed town in Hong Kong. The last remaining major settlement in the Frontier Closed Area, it is Hong Kong's northernmost town. Geography The small rural village of Sha Tau Kok is located on the northern sh ...

Administration

Kuk Po is a recognized village under the

Small House Policy The Small House Policy (SHP, ) was introduced in 1972 in Hong Kong. The objective was to improve the then prevailing low standard of housing in the rural areas of the New Territories. The Policy allows an indigenous male villager who is 18 ye ...

. For electoral purposes, Ko Po is part of the Sha Ta constituency of the

North District Council The North District Council () is one of the 18 Hong Kong district councils and represents the North District. It is one of 18 such councils. Consisting of 22 members, the district council is drawn from 18 constituencies, which elect 18 members, ...

. It is currently represented by Ko Wai-kei, who was elected in the

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

History

By accounts given by villagers, the area was originally inhabited by the Cheung () clan who now reside in

Fung Hang Fung Hang () is a village in the north eastern New Territories of Hong Kong, to the south west of the Sha Tau Kok Hoi or Starling Inlet, opposite the town of Sha Tau Kok. It is a single-clan Hakka village of the Cheung () Clan located between L ...

, and this is supported by much of the land in Kuk Po being owned by the Cheung. The Cheung may have been the original inhabitants prior to the 1662 evacuation of the coastal regions under the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...

of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. All the coastal inhabitants had to move fifty li from the coast. Two years later a further evacuation further inland was ordered. It was not until 1669 that this evacuation was rescinded, and the depopulated coastal regions could be re-inhabited. The Kangxi Emperor decreed some financial assistance to help with the repopulation efforts, and it is probably due to this measure that newcomers came to Kuk Po and surrounding areas to live. For over three centuries, the area of Kuk Po has been inhabited by seven clans, the Sung (), Lee (), Ho (), Tsang (), Cheng (), Ng () and Yeung (). There are a number of smaller villages under the geographical name Kuk Po, and these are (romanised names are the

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

pronunciation): Hoi Ha (), Tien Sim (), Lau Vui (, Kuk Po Lo Wai), Sin Vuk Ha (), NgiDu (or Yito) (), Sam Du (or Samto) (), Si Du (or Szeto) (), Ng Du (or Ngto) (). Some like Lau Vui, Tien Sim and Sam Du are mixed clan, but the others are villages of one clan. All inhabitants of Kuk Po are generally from a farming background. Living close to the inlet means that many of the people also enjoy fishing and gathering shellfish. At the time of the 1911 census, the population of Kuk Po Lo Wai was 247; the number of males was 140. The population of Kuk Po San Wai was 126; the number of males was 56. Kuk Po boasts a rural school house. It was built in the 1928, inspired by the Guangzhou Military Academy School, and is firmly connected with Sung Miau On, who became the local Kuk Po school headmaster. Sung Miao On was not originally from Kuk Po, but had studied in Guangzhou at the Military Academy School. He came to Kuk Po and identified with the people there who were of the same clan as he was. The school was still in use until the early 1990s, with the last headmaster Mr. Ho and a couple of teachers, and a few children who travelled across the bay to attend school every day. By that time, the rural inhabitants of Kuk Po had moved to live in other areas. They continued to maintain their links with the village with some visiting frequently, and some coming on the first and fifteenth of the lunar months and festivities to observe pray and offerings to ancestors and the gods of the home and hearth.

Villages

There are several villages in Kuk Po. Kuk Po Lo Wai () is the oldest one. It was a

walled village A walled village () is a type of large traditional multi-family communal living structure found in China, that is designed to be easily defensible. It is completely surrounded by thick defensive walls, protecting the residents from the attack o ...

Kuk Po today

Today, though the villages in Kuk Po are mostly deserted, there is tourism of a kind with hill walkers passing through the area from their mountain trail excursions from the nearby

Plover Cove Country Park Plover Cove Country Park () is a country park in Hong Kong located in the Northeastern New Territories. The original country park was established on 7April 1978, covering of natural terrain in the administrative North District and Tai Po Dist ...

which fringes the Kuk Po valley. A stall near to the school is open every Sunday to cater for the travellers, owned by local indigenous Kuk Po people. The rural decline of Kuk Po is reflected in other village areas in remote and almost inaccessible areas, such as

So Lo Pun So Lo Pun () is a village in the northeastern New Territories of Hong Kong, within the Plover Cove Country Park. It is located northwest of Lai Chi Wo and northeast of Kuk Po. Today, the village is derelict and is uninhabited. Descendants of the for ...

. To reach Kuk Po from the outside, local residents require to pass through the

Shek Chung O A picul or tam is a traditional Asian unit of weight, defined as "as much as a man can carry on a shoulder-pole". History The word ''picul'' appeared as early as the mid 9th century in Javanese. Following Spanish, Portuguese, British and ...

border crossing with a permit. This is because

lies within a restricted border region. Moreover, it requires taking a ferry boat journey across the Starling Inlet to reach the pier at Kuk Po Hoi Ha. This is because the trackway from

Luk Keng Luk Keng may refer to: *Luk Keng (North District), Luk Keng, an area in the North District of Hong Kong, containing several villages, including: **Luk Keng Chan Uk **Luk Keng Lam Uk **Luk Keng Wong Uk *Luk Keng Village: A village in Yam O, Lantau I ...

is impractical, though some residents are known to use it, it is more usual for people to take a boat across. For mountain trail trekkers, the route is via the

Country Park A country park is a natural area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. United Kingdom History In the United Kingdom, the term ''country park'' has a special meaning. There are around 250 recognised coun ...

. The inhabitants of Kuk Po are

speakers like the surrounding villages and many people in the town of Sha Tau Kok. Many of those who were educated in Kuk Po since the 1970s are bilingual in Hakka and

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

Conservation

The Kai Choi School () and

Hip Tin Temple There are several Hip Tin Temples () in Hong Kong. Kwan Tai (Lord Guan) is worshiped in these temples. Kwan Tai Temples are also dedicated to Lord Guan. Man Mo Temples are jointly dedicated to Man Tai () and Kwan Tai (aka. Mo Tai, ). ''Note 1:'' ...

in Kuk Po, as well as the Yeung Ancestral Hall and the Li Ancestral Hall in Kuk Po Lo Wai have been listed as Grade III historic buildings.

Antiquities Advisory Board The Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with the responsibility of advising the Antiquities Authority on any matters relating to antiquities and monuments. The AAB was establish ...

List of the 1,444 Historic Buildings with Assessment Results
/ref>

Access

There is a trackway which leads from the school in Kuk Po towards

, and it takes travellers towards

Kai Kuk Shue Ha Kai Kuk Shue Ha () is a village in the North District of Hong Kong. Administration Kai Kuk Shue Ha is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. It is one of the villages represented within the Sha Tau Kok District Rural ...

and Ham Hang Mei, and out to

where there is public transport available. The journey on foot can take around forty minutes to three quarters of an hour.