The MacIntosh Forts are a group of seven

observation post An observation post (commonly abbreviated OP), temporary or fixed, is a position from which soldiers can watch enemy movements, to warn of approaching soldiers (such as in trench warfare), or to direct fire. In strict military terminology, an ...

s built in

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 ...

between 1949 and 1953 at the border with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, to safeguard the border against

illegal immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwa ...

, when there was an influx of refugees from

due to political instability.Antiquities and Monuments Office: Introduction to 1444 Historic Buildings
/ref> The Forts were named after

Hong Kong Police The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. The Royal Hong Kong Police Force (RHKPF) reverted to its former name after the t ...

Commissioner Duncan William MacIntosh (in office, 1946-1953) who decided to build a chain of observation posts guarded day and night. They have been listed as Grade II historic buildings since 1997.Brief Information on Proposed Grade II Items

Description

The MacIntosh Forts were built along the

Sham Chun River The Sham Chun River, Shum Chum River, or Shenzhen River () serves as the natural border between Hong Kong and Mainland China, together with the Sha Tau Kok River, Mirs Bay and Deep Bay. It formed part of the limit of the lease of the N ...

when an influx of Chinese refugees was followed by border incidents of armed clashes between the police and refugees. Amongst the refugees were the defeated remnants of the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

Nationalist armies and also a "fair number of common criminals".R.G. Horsnall, "The MacIntosh Cathedrals", in ''Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch'', Vol. 35, 1995, pp. 171-176
/ref> The Forts were built in

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

of the same style and of very similar design, which may be categorised as Modern Utilitarian. Built on hilltops at strategic spots, with a view across the border, they were dubbed the ''Macintosh Cathedrals'' because of their distinctive appearance and outline against the skyline. Six out of the seven Forts are now remotely controlled. They are not open to public.Legislative Council - Official Record of Proceedings, 6 December 2006, p. 101
/ref>

List

The seven observation posts are located in a chain, covering most parts of the land frontier. They are from east to west:

Photo Gallery

Other photos of the forts File:Sign_for_MacIntosh_Fort_at_Lin_Ma_Hang.jpg, Sign for the MacIntosh Fort at Kong Shan,

Lin Ma Hang Lin Ma Hang () is a village in the Sha Tau Kok area of Hong Kong and is situated north of the New Territories, next to the Shenzhen river, east of Heung Yuen Wai and west of Hung Fa Leng. Administration Lin Ma Hang is a recognized village under ...

File:MacIntosh_Fort_at_Lin_Ma_Hang.jpg, MacIntosh Fort at Kong Shan,

overlooking Shenzhen File:麥景陶碉堡（礦山）.JPG, MacIntosh Fort at Kong Shan File:麥景陶碉堡 (伯公拗).jpg, MacIntosh Fort at Pak Kung Au File:麥景陶碉堡（馬草壟）.JPG, MacIntosh Fort at

Ma Tso Lung Ma Tso Lung () is a village in Sheung Shui, North District, Hong Kong. Administration Ma Tso Lung is one of the villages represented within the Sheung Shui District Rural Committee. For electoral purposes, Ma Tso Lung is part of the Sheung Sh ...

References

External links

* {{Cite thesis, degree=M.Sc. in Conservation, last=Tse, first=Ching-kan Curry, title=The Fortified Line: Police Observation Posts in the Frontier Closed Area at the Border of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, url=http://hub.hku.hk/bitstream/10722/56063/3/FullText.pdf, year=October 2006, publisher=

The University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the fir ...

, access-date=27 March 2015, url-status=dead, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150405061114/http://hub.hku.hk/bitstream/10722/56063/3/FullText.pdf, archivedate=5 April 2015
Survey on Features with Cultural Heritage Value in the Sha Tau Kok, Ta Kwu Ling and Ma Tso Lung Areas, 17 December 2007 (with maps showing the location of the Forts)
Hong Kong Police Force British Hong Kong Grade II historic buildings in Hong Kong North District, Hong Kong Yuen Long District

Description

List

Photo Gallery

See also

References

External links