Lam Tei in Map of the San-On District (1866)

Nai Wai () aka. Wong Kong Wai ()

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 ...

. Historic Building Appraisal
Entrance Gate, Nai Wai
/ref> is 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 ...

Lam Tei Lam Tei () is an area in the Tuen Mun District of the New Territories, Hong Kong. The region lies at the north end of Tuen Mun city. It is highly rural, with Miu Fat Buddhist Monastery being a landmark of the region. History Several villages ...

Tuen Mun District Tuen Mun District is one of the 18 administrative districts of Hong Kong. It is the westernmost continental district of Hong Kong. It had a population of 487,546 in 2011. Part of the district is the Tuen Mun New Town (or simply Tuen Mun), w ...

, Hong Kong.

Administration

Nai Wai is a recognized village under the

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 ...

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 ...

. It is one of the 36 villages represented within the

Tuen Mun Rural Committee The Tuen Mun Rural Committee (, TMRC) is a rural committee in Hong Kong. It was founded by rural leader Chan Yat-sen in 1953 with representatives from 29 villages in Tuen Mun. Today the rural committee consisted of 36 villages and 69 village r ...

. For electoral purposes, Nai Wai is part of the Tuen Mun Rural constituency, which is currently represented by Kenneth Cheung Kam-hung.

History

Nai Wai was established by the To ()

Clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

Antiquities and Monuments Office The Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) was established in 1976 under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance to protect and preserve Hong Kong's historic monuments. Housed in the Former Kowloon British School, the AMO is responsible for iden ...

Tsing Chuen Wai - History
/ref> Several villages of the Lam Tei area were established by the To ()

. Originally from Poyang,

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

Tuen Tsz Wai - History
/ref> (other sources mention Watlam in

Guangxi Guangxi (; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Kwanghsi; ; za, Gvangjsih, italics=yes), officially the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (GZAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the People's Republic ...

: Historic Building Appraisal
To Ancestral Hall Tuen Tze Wai
/ref> the To Clan moved to

Ngau Tam Mei Ngau Tam Mei (), also known as Yau Tam Mei (), is a suburb located in San Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong near Yuen Long. It is located at the east of Fairview Park, the north of San Tin village and Kai Kung Leng, the northwest of Lam Tsuen Cou ...

and then to

Tuen Mun Tai Tsuen 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 ...

. Following the increase of the clan population, the village dispersed and developed into five villages in the Lam Tei area: Nai Wai,

Tsing Chuen Wai Tsing Chuen Wai () is a walled village located in the Lam Tei area, in the northern part of Tuen Mun District, in Hong Kong. Administration Tsing Chuen Wai is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. It is one of th ...

Tuen Tsz Wai Tuen Tsz Wai () is a village of Hong Kong, located in the Lam Tei area, in the northern part of Tuen Mun District. Part of the village is a historic Punti walled village. Administration Tuen Tsz Wai is a recognized village under the New Territ ...

Lam Tei Tsuen Lam Tei Tsuen () is a walled village in Lam Tei, Tuen Mun District, Hong Kong. Administration Lam Tei Tsuen is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. It is one of the 36 villages represented within the Tuen Mun Rural C ...

and

Tuen Mun San Tsuen Tuen Mun San Tsuen () is a walled village in Lam Tei, Tuen Mun District, Hong Kong. The walled village is also called San Tsuen Wai () or Tai Yuen Wai ().Antiquities and Monuments OfficeTsing Chuen Wai - History/ref> Administration Tuen Mun San T ...

, which were all

fortified A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

: Historic Building Appraisal
To Ancestral Hall Tuen Tze Wai
/ref> According to different sources, Nai Wai may have been established around 1368-1398 or during the reign of

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...

(1735-1796). Nai Wai appears on the "Map of the San-On District", published in 1866 by

Simeone Volonteri Simeone Volonteri () (June 6, 1831 – December 21,1904) was an Italian missionary and a bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. Life Simeone Volonteri was born in Milan, Italy. He joined the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions in 1855. He was ...

Features

Nai Wai was a walled village with four watch towers at the four corners of the square village. The entrance gate was moved to the present southern outer row of houses with its entrance facing south about 200 years ago due to feng shui reasons.

References

External links

Delineation of area of existing village Nai Wai (Tuen Mun) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)
*

. Hong Kong Traditional Chinese Architectural Information System
Nai Wai
*

Picture of the entrance gate
*

. Historic Building Appraisal
Shrine, Nai WaiPicture

{{coord, 22.423307, 113.988609, display=title Walled villages of Hong Kong Villages in Tuen Mun District, Hong Kong Lam Tei

Administration

History

Features

See also

References

External links