Pak Nai () is a

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

area, partly mud-bank, surrounded by mountain ranges, in the

Yuen Long District Yuen Long District (formerly romanised as Un Long) is one of the districts of Hong Kong. Located in the northwest of the New Territories, it had a population of 662,000 in 2021 Geography Yuen Long District contains the largest alluvial pla ...

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 ...

facing Deep Bay (aka. Shenzhen Bay). Pak Nai makes up the coastline as Sheung Pak Nai () and Ha Pak Nai () geographically. Pak Nai is famous for its

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

which comes with rich

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

, with rare species found offshore. In recent years, the public has paid concern to a controversial development proposal, which eventually was dropped under objections. Besides its rich ecosystem, Pak Nai is known for its sunset views and historically-significant sites dating back to a couple thousand years ago.

Administration

For electoral purposes, Ha Pak Nai and Sheung Pak Nai are part of the

Ha Tsuen Ha Tsuen (), or Ha Tsuen Heung () is an area at the west of Yuen Long Town in Hong Kong. Administratively, it belongs to Yuen Long District. History During the Hungwu reign (1368-1398) of the Ming Dynasty, two members of Tang clans in Kam Tin ...

constituency.

Ecology

Ha Pak Nai's shoreline is where

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evoluti ...

s, wetland and mud-bank are found. The mangroves in Ha Pak Nai harbour various species and is highly conserved by environmentalists. The rich

of this area has prompted the government to designate it a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Ha Pak Nai used to be an

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

bed, thus, there is still remains of oyster shells all over the mud flat. Some species of

crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...

s such as Perisesarma bidens, Ilyoplax tansuiensis, Uca arcuata and

Sesarma sinensis ''Sesarma'' is a genus of terrestrial crabs endemic to the Americas. Many species within this genus live in mangroves. They have evolved to be fully terrestrial, which means they do not have to return to the sea even to spawn. Several species in ...

are commonly found in the offshore

mud flat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

. Among all

s found in the Ha Pak Nai area, the

horseshoe crab Horseshoe crabs are marine and brackish water arthropods of the family Limulidae and the only living members of the order Xiphosura. Despite their name, they are not true crabs or crustaceans: they are chelicerates, most closely related to arachn ...

is one of the most highly conserved species. Horseshoe crabs originate from 450 million years ago and are called "

living fossil A living fossil is an extant taxon that cosmetically resembles related species known only from the fossil record. To be considered a living fossil, the fossil species must be old relative to the time of origin of the extant clade. Living fossi ...

s". Because of the

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

in their

blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

, which can be extracted to be applied in detecting

bacteria Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

, horseshoe crabs are highly valued in medicine.

Archaeology and monument

There are two major relics and one historical site found around the Pak Nai area, which are the

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...

of the Chen's homeland, Wu's homeland and a fortified structure. The

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 ...

found the Chen's relic in May, 1997, featuring a sand dune containing two culture levels. The excavation team found 4

posthole In archaeology a posthole or post-hole is a cut feature used to hold a surface timber or stone. They are usually much deeper than they are wide; however, truncation may not make this apparent. Although the remains of the timber may survive, most p ...

s, 9 stone stoves, 3

kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...

s and 1

grave A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

which it was the first time for Hong Kong excavating sun and moon utensils. The Wu's relic was found in September, 1997 by the same excavation team. They found culture levels in three time periods, having rammed earth foundations, stone artifacts and more. A fortified structure at No.55 Ha Pak Nai, which is a

declared monument Declared monuments of Hong Kong are places, structures or buildings legally declared to receive the highest level of protection. In Hong Kong, declaring a monument requires consulting the Antiquities Advisory Board, the approval of the Chief Exec ...

owing to its connection to the revolutionary movement of modern China under the leadership of

Dr. Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

. Hsing Chung Hui (

Revive China Society The Hsing Chung Hui (Hanyu Pinyin romanization: Xīngzhōnghuì), translated as the Revive China Society (興中會), the Society for Regenerating China, or the Proper China Society was founded by Sun Yat-sen on 24 November 1894 to forward th ...

) members, who were

KMT 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 Taiw ...

, stationed at Lower Pak Nai for preparation of overturning the ruling of

Qing 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-speaki ...

authority and conducted

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...

tests. (Luo 1971:37) The structure was built by a core member of Hsing Chung Hui named Tang Yam-nam around 1910. It was the only solid evidence correlating the

1911 revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a d ...

and its movement leader

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...

and his comrades. The structure served for the surveillance across the Deep Bay coast under the Qing authority.

Sunset

Ha Pak Nai ("Ha" means "lower") is known as one of the best places for viewing

sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...

, making it a beloved place of many photographers, tourists and dating couples. The best sunset-viewing spots are the shores along Ha Pak Nai and the junction of Deep Bay Road and Nim Wan Road. Nim Wan Road is a popular 5 km cycling route for locals.

Withdrawn development plans

Former

Heung Yee Kuk The Heung Yee Kuk, officially the Heung Yee Kuk N.T., is a statutory advisory body representing establishment interests in the New Territories, Hong Kong. The council is a powerful organisation comprising heads of rural committees which repres ...

chairman

Lau Wong-fat Lau Wong-fat, GBM, GBS, OBE, JP (; 15 October 1936 – 23 July 2017) was a Hong Kong businessman and politician. He had been the long-time chairman of the Rural Council, the most powerful organ representing the interests of the New Territo ...

applied for the development of Ha Pak Nai in 2007, but vigorous opposition led to withdrawal of the application. In 2010, Lau hope to pass the assessment of the

Town Planning Board The Town Planning Board () is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Government tasked with developing urban planning, urban plans with an aim to ensuring the "health, safety, convenience and general welfare of the community through the process of ...

by sharply reducing the scale of development and gave up building a golf course, as well as adding in more conservation features, in which the

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

-protection area was on the government's land instead of his, showing little commitment to conservation. The Ha Pak Nai village representative complained that poor transportation arrangements ought to be fatal to the plan. The government has already built facilities to introduce the fortified structure's information. In 2009 a

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

official noted that the construction of the Western Express Line, a proposed railway linking the Hong Kong and Shenzhen airports, might stop in Sheung Pak Nai. However, the proposal has been shelved as a consultant hired by the Transport and Housing Bureau found that the line would cost "well in excess" of HK$110 billion and had poor financial viability and poor market demand.

Transportation

Located in the very west of

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 ...

, Pak Nai can be reached by

minibus A minibus, microbus, minicoach, or commuter (in Zimbabwe) is a passenger-carrying motor vehicle that is designed to carry more people than a multi-purpose vehicle or minivan, but fewer people than a full-size bus. In the United Kingdom, th ...

taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

. Minibus number 33, from Tai Fung Street in the center of

Yuen Long Yuen Long is a town in the western New Territories, Hong Kong. To its west lie Hung Shui Kiu (), Tin Shui Wai, Lau Fau Shan and Ha Tsuen, to the south Shap Pat Heung and Tai Tong, to the east Au Tau and Kam Tin (), and to the north Nam Sang W ...

, drops off at Pak Nai, beside the mud-bank.

References

External links

Delineation of area of existing village Pak Nai Tsuen (Ha Tsuen) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)

Delineation of area of existing village Ha Pak Nai Tsuen (Ha Tsuen) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)
{{coord, 22.4371, 113.9483, format=dms, display=title Yuen Long District