Ping Kong () 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 ...

Sheung Shui Sheung Shui (, literally "Above-water") is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong. Sheung Shui Town, a part of this area, is part of the Fanling–Sheung Shui New Town in the North District of Hong Kong. Fanling Town is to its southea ...

, North District, Hong Kong.

Administration

Ping Kong 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 villages represented within the Sheung Shui District Rural Committee. For electoral purposes, Ping Kong is part of the Yu Tai constituency, which was formerly represented by Vincent Chan Chi-fung until July 2021.

History

The Hau ()

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 ...

, one of the

Five Great Clans of the New Territories The Five Great Clans of the New Territories are five families that settled early and became sizeable in the New Territories of Hong Kong. They are the Tang (Deng; ), the Man (Wen; ), Hau (Hou; ), Pang (Peng; ) and Liu ( Liao; ). The Hau Clan arr ...

, arrived in modern-day Hong Kong towards the end of the 12th century, during the

Southern Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

. They first settled at

Ho Sheung Heung Ho Sheung Heung () is an area in Sheung Shui, North District, Hong Kong. Administration Ho Sheung Heung is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. For electoral purposes, Ho Sheung Heung is part of the Sheung Shui R ...

. They later settled three branch-villages:

Yin Kong Yin Kong () is a village in Sheung Shui, North District, Hong Kong, North District, Hong Kong. Administration Yin Kong is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. It is one of the villages represented within the Sheung Sh ...

Kam Tsin Kam Tsin (), also known as Kam Tsin Tsuen () is a village and an area in the North District, in the New Territories in Hong Kong. Administration Kam Tsin is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. It is one of the v ...

and Ping Kong. In 1851, a war opposed the village of

San Tin San Tin () is a loosely defined area in Yuen Long District in New Territories, Hong Kong that is part of the San Tin constituency. Unlike Hong Kong's highly urbanised areas, San Tin is sparsely populated due to its marshlands. San Tin is loca ...

to Ping Kong and

. Ping Kong was described in the early 20th century as a 'very wealthy

Punti ''Punti'' ( zh, t=本地, j=bun2 dei6, l=locals) is a Cantonese endonym referring to the native Cantonese people of Guangdong and Guangxi. ''Punti'' designates Weitou dialect-speaking locals in contrast to other Yue Chinese speakers and other ...

village'. In the old days, the walled village was named 'Cheung Lung Wai' (), which translated as the 'Lucky Dragon Wall'.

Features

Ping Kong has a

Tin Hau Temple Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong are dedicated to Tin Hau (Mazu). Over 100 temples are dedicated (at least partially) to Tin Hau in Hong Kong. A list of these temples can be found below. Famous temples Famous Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong include: ...

, which was featured in

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

's 1983 film '' Project A''. The Hau ancestral hall was rebuilt inside the village wall after the old one outside was burned down during a fight with the

Man A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...

().

Festival

Ping Kong is also one of the few villages in Hong Kong that continue to host the traditional Taiping Qingjiao festival once every decade, with the latest in 2018. The Taoist festival is a 3-day celebration to thanks the Heavens for a peaceful decade and wish for prosperity in the future. Representatives for the ceremony are chosen among the Hau family members by tossing the "Holy Cups". Going through the genealogy book, the first 5 males who toss both cups up-side are chosen as the representative to lead the ceremony for the village. Even though a lot of the Hau family members immigrated oversea to Europe and the Americas, many of them return for this special event to gather. The ceremony involves a lot of interesting activities to "worship" the gods, includes freeing animals, inviting wandering ghosts to the village for resurrection, running a "horse" around the village to collect everyone's name to send to the Heavens, carrying the "ghost king" around the village to catch evil spirits and burn them at the end of the ceremony. The "monks" who guide the representatives to lead the ceremony also perform many traditional rituals. Several highlights are dressing up / fixing appearance before "seeing" the gods, performing an Act that the Heavens received the village's genealogy book and offer their blessing, there are also several

kungfu Chinese martial arts, often called by the umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater China. Th ...

-like performances that usually draw a big crowd. During the festival, Hau family members gather at the Ancestor hall for lunch and dinner. The food being served are traditional vegetarian

poon choi Poon choi or puhn choi (pronounced: pun4 coi3 in Cantonese), pén cài in pinyin, is a traditional Cantonese festival meal composed of many layers of different ingredients. It is served in large wooden, porcelain or metal basins called ''poo ...

during the festival. After the conclusion of the ceremony, the poon choi will switch to the classic style with meat and seafood. Each household within the clan will also receive a cut of grill pork.

References

External links

Delineation of area of existing village Ping Kong (Sheung Shui) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)

Webpage about Ping Kong
Sheung Shui Walled villages of Hong Kong Villages in North District, Hong Kong {{HK-geo-stub