Tiu Keng Leng (), Rennie's Mill, is an area of Hong Kong in the

Sai Kung District Sai Kung District is one of the districts of Hong Kong, 18 districts of Hong Kong. The district comprises the southern half of the Sai Kung Peninsula, the Clear Water Bay Peninsula in the New Territories and a strip of land to the east of Ko ...

adjacent to

Tseung Kwan O Tseung Kwan O New Town, commonly known as Tseung Kwan O ( zh, t=將軍澳新市鎮, j=Zoeng1 gwan1 ou3 san1 si5 zan3), is one of the nine New towns of Hong Kong, new towns in Hong Kong, built mainly on Land reclamation in Hong Kong, reclaimed ...

(Junk Bay). The area used to be a

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

village housing former

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

officials and followers who escaped to Hong Kong from

mainland China "Mainland China", also referred to as "the Chinese mainland", is a Geopolitics, geopolitical term defined as the territory under direct administration of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War. In addit ...

after the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC); however, the original Tiu Keng Leng village was cleared before Hong Kong's sovereignty transfer to the PRC in 1997, and nowadays Tiu Keng Leng is thoroughly redeveloped as part of the

Tseung Kwan O New Town Tseung Kwan O New Town, commonly known as Tseung Kwan O ( zh, t=將軍澳新市鎮, j=Zoeng1 gwan1 ou3 san1 si5 zan3), is one of the nine new towns in Hong Kong, built mainly on reclaimed land in the northern half of Junk Bay in southeaster ...

History

The earliest traceable name referring to the area nowadays known as Tiu Keng Leng was " Chiu Keng Leng" (照鏡嶺, ''lit.'' ridge of mirror reflection), being a reference to the clearness and calmness of the adjacent

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

. The name was given by

Tanka is a genre of classical Japanese poetry and one of the major genres of Japanese literature. Etymology Originally, in the time of the influential poetry anthology (latter half of the eighth century AD), the term ''tanka'' was used to disti ...

residents in the area. Both the names "Tiu Keng Leng" and "Rennie's Mill" come from a 19th-century Canadian businessman named Alfred Herbert Rennie, who established the Hong Kong Milling Company at Junk Bay (his partners were

Paul Chater Sir Catchick Paul Chater (; ; 8 September 1846 – 27 May 1926) was a prominent British businessman of Armenians, Armenian descent in colonial Hong Kong, whose family roots were in Kolkata, Calcutta, India. Biography Early life Chater was b ...

and

Hormusjee Naorojee Mody Sir Hormusjee Naorojee Mody (12 October 1838 – 16 June 1911) was an Indian Parsi businessman in Hong Kong. He lived in Hong Kong for 50 years, during which he worked for the colony and founded the University of Hong Kong. Biography He was b ...

). The business failed, and Rennie drowned himself there in 1908, though it was mistakenly reported that he had hanged himself. The incident gave the Chinese name for the site 吊頸嶺 (Tiu Keng Leng /

Jyutping The Linguistic Society of Hong Kong Cantonese Romanization Scheme, also known as Jyutping, is a romanisation system for Cantonese developed in 1993 by the Linguistic Society of Hong Kong (LSHK). The name ''Jyutping'' (itself the Jyutping ro ...

: diu3 geng2 leng5), meaning "Hanging (neck) Ridge", a

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

on the name "Chiu Keng Leng" mentioned above. Because it was inauspicious, the name was later changed to similar-sounding 調景嶺 (Tiu King Leng / Jyutping: tiu4 ging2 leng5, which can be interpreted as "ridge of adjusting situation".) The 1819 edition of the ''

Gazetteer of Xin'an County ''Xin'an Xianzhi'' (; literally ''Gazetteers of Xin'an County''), also known as San On County Gazetteer or San On Gazetteer in English, were the chorography of the historical Xin'an County (San-On or Sun-On County; literally ''New Peace Count ...

'' does not mention the place. On 26 June 1950 the

Hong Kong Government The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (commonly known as the Hong Kong Government or HKSAR Government) is the Executive (government), executive authorities of Hong Kong. It was established on 1 July 1997, following the ...

's Social Welfare Office (the predecessor of the

Social Welfare Department The Social Welfare Department () is a department of the Hong Kong Government responsible for providing welfare services to the community. Responsibilities The department provides services to families and children, the elderly, recovering crimin ...

) settled a considerable number of

s from China – former Nationalist soldiers and other

supporters (according to official government account, there were 6,800 of them) – at Rennie's Mill, following the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led Nationalist government, government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the forces of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Armed conflict continued intermitt ...

.Kenneth Lan (2006), ''Rennie's Mill: the origin and evolution of a special enclave in Hong Kong''. Ph.D. Thesis, HKU
Accessed 8 August 2023. With the newly built temporary settlements, the colonial government provided food and living expenses to the refugees. The Hong Kong Government's original intention was to settle these

s temporarily before they would be repatriated to Taiwan by the

or to mainland China by the

Chinese Communists The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil W ...

. But this day never came for the Kuomintang (under the auspices of a political-oriented charitable body named

Free China Relief Association The Chinese Association for Relief and Ensuing Services (also known as the CARES) (), formerly the Free China Relief Association (), is a non-governmental organization headquartered in Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan). The organization speciali ...

which became prominent after the government suspended food ration in 1953), the residents of the enclave became more supportive to the

cause. Thus, by the late-1950s, in correlation with the Cold War context in Asia at the time, Rennie's Mill gradually became a "Bastion Against Communism", with the

flag of the Republic of China The flag of the Republic of China, commonly called the flag of Taiwan, consists of a red field with a blue canton bearing a white disk surrounded by twelve triangles; said symbols symbolize the sun and rays of light emanating from it, res ...

flying (earning it the

sobriquet A sobriquet ( ) is a descriptive nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym in that it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name without the need for explanation; it may beco ...

"Little

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

"), its own

school system A state school, public school, or government school is a primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-funded schools ar ...

and practically off-limits to the

Royal Hong Kong Police Force The history of the Hong Kong Police originates in 1841, when the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) was officially established by the British colonial government, the same year that the British had settled in Hong Kong. While changes have been impl ...

until 1962 when the Hong Kong Government decided to turn it into a resettlement estate due to its apprehension of the growing Kuomintang presence in the enclave. It also had a significant missionary presence. Owing to its pro-Kuomintang atmosphere, the

1967 riots 1967 riots may refer to: * Long, hot summer of 1967, marked by race riots and civil disorder throughout the United States ** 1967 riots in Avondale, Cincinnati, June 12–18, Cincinnati, Ohio ** 1967 Buffalo riot, June 27–July 1, Buffalo, New Yo ...

did not have an effect on Rennie's Mill. Rennie's Mill was badly damaged by Typhoon Wanda in 1962, rendering many homeless. In 1996 the Hong Kong government evicted the last of Rennie's Mill's original residents, ostensibly to make room for new town developments as part of the

, but widely believed to be a move to please the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

Chinese government The government of the People's Republic of China is based on a system of people's congress within the parameters of a Unitary state, unitary communist state, in which the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) enacts its policies through people's ...

before the

transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong The handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China was at midnight on 1 July 1997. This event ended 156 years of British rule in the former colony, which began in 1841. Hong Kong was established as a specia ...

in 1997. Earlier in 1961, the people of Rennie's Mill were promised by the government that they would be able to stay "indefinitely," and in June 1996, residents petitioned the High Court, where judge Raymond Sears found that "In my judgment, the conduct of the Housing Authority by serving notices to quit, in breach of the clear promises of 1961, amounts to an abuse of power." File:Rennie's Mill 1910 2.JPG, Hong Kong Milling Company in 1910s File:Tiu Keng Leng 1952.jpg, Rennie's Mill in 1950s File:Tiu Keng Leng 1955.jpg, Rennie's Mill in 1955 File:Tiu Keng Leng 1995.jpg, Rennie's Mill in 1995 File:Tiu Keng Leng to Tseung Kwan O 2019 05.jpg, Tiu Keng Leng and

Tseung Kwan O South Tseung Kwan O New Town, commonly known as Tseung Kwan O ( zh, t=將軍澳新市鎮, j=Zoeng1 gwan1 ou3 san1 si5 zan3), is one of the nine new towns in Hong Kong, built mainly on reclaimed land in the northern half of Junk Bay in southeastern ...

in 2019

Housing

After the handover, the English name of the area was changed from "Rennie's Mill" to "Tiu Keng Leng", following the Cantonese name. Tiu Keng Leng became redeveloped as a modern high-rise residential district.

Metro Town Metro Town Phase One, often abbreviated to Metro Town (), is a Private housing estates in Hong Kong, private residential high-rise development located in the Tseung Kwan O district of the New Territories in Hong Kong, on top of the Tiu Keng ...

is a private housing estate situated directly above the Tiu Keng Leng Station. With nine towers built on top of a carpark/shopping mall podium, it is the tallest structure in the area. To the south of Metro Town, on the site of a former

steel mill A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-fini ...

operated by Shiu Wing Steel, is another private housing estate, Ocean Shores. The three public housing estates in the area are

Kin Ming Estate Kin Ming Estate () is a public housing estate in Tiu Keng Leng, Tseung Kwan O, New Territories, Hong Kong, near MTR Tiu Keng Leng station. It is the eighth public housing estate in Tseung Kwan O and consists of ten housing blocks completed i ...

Choi Ming Court The public housing estates in Tseung Kwan O is a public housing project in Tseung Kwan O. Its first buildings were inaugurated in 1988. History With the exception of Tsui Lam Estate, King Ming Court and Hong Sing Garden, all the public hous ...

and Shin Ming Estate.

Transport

Before the redevelopment and reclamation in the surrounding area, Tiu Keng Leng could be reached by the winding, hilly and narrow Po Lam Road South, which ran past numerous busy quarries. At that time, Tiu Keng Leng's only public transport connections were

Kowloon Motor Bus The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating Bus services in Hong Kong, franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes, with over 4,000 buses ...

routes 90 and 290, served with

minibus A minibus, microbus, or minicoach 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, the word "minibus" is us ...

es, and by water transport. In 2001, with the redevelopment, a segment of Po Lam Road South was rebuilt and extended to near Kwong Tin Estate in

Yau Tong Yau Tong () is an area of Hong Kong, located in the southeastern end of Kowloon, between Lei Yue Mun and Lam Tin, at the east shore of Victoria Harbour, west of Tseung Kwan O. Administratively, it is part of Kwun Tong District, the most densely ...

. The reconstructed road was renamed O King Road and became the first road connection to modern Tiu Keng Leng. Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin Tunnel, opened in 2022, provides a direct and fast route into Kowloon and the city centre. The various centres of Tseung Kwan O were always intended to be served primarily by the

MTR The Mass Transit Railway system, known locally by the initialism MTR, is a rapid transit system in Hong Kong and the territory's principal mode of Rail transport in Hong Kong, railway transportation. Operated by the MTR Corporation (MTRCL), ...

metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

system,Junk Bay New Town Transport Study·RAIL TRANSPORT – ALTERNATIVE ALIGNMENTS, 1981 and the 2002 opening of

Tiu Keng Leng station Tiu Keng Leng station is an MTR station located in Tiu Keng Leng. The station features cross-platform interchange between the and the , and serves as the eastern terminus of the Kwun Tong line and the western terminus of the Tseung Kwan O li ...

of the

Tseung Kwan O line The Tseung Kwan O line () is one of the ten lines of the MTR system in Hong Kong. It is currently long, taking 15 minutes to travel throughout the entire line. It is indicated in on the MTR map. The line runs from North Point on the ...

and

Kwun Tong line The Kwun Tong line () is a rapid transit line of the MTR network in Hong Kong. Starting at Whampoa station, Whampoa in Hung Hom and ending at Tiu Keng Leng station, Tiu Keng Leng in Tseung Kwan O, Sai Kung Town, Sai Kung, the route has 1 ...

provided a much-used link to the urban area of Kowloon.

Education

Hong Kong Design Institute Campus 201009

The Hong Kong Design Institute (HKDI) is well known for the shape of its building. Designed by French architects Coldefy & Associs, it resembles a piece of paper floating mid-air featuring a glazed box raised seven storeys above the ground on four lattice-steel towers that rest on a sloping, grass-covered podium. Total construction cost amounted to HK$1.2 billion, it was opened in November 2010. The

Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education The Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) is one of the member institutions of the Vocational Training Council (VTC) offering vocational education to post-secondary students in Hong Kong through its nine campi located across the ter ...

(IVE) – Lee Wai Lee campus is located next to HKDI. Also, the campus of

Saint Francis University Saint Francis University (SFU) is a private Catholic university in Loretto, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1847 and conducted under the tradition of the Franciscan Friars of the Third Order Regular. The university is situated ...

is located at Tiu Keng Leng. It is the first Catholic University in Hong Kong.

References

External links

History Stories: Tiu Keng Leng (part 2)
* Tatlow, Kirsten Didi.
Hong Kong's 'little Taiwan' And Flags Passing Into History
"

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

at '' The Day''. Monday 29 July 1996. p. A8.

Google News Google News is a news aggregator service developed by Google. It presents a continuous flow of links to articles organized from thousands of publishers and magazines. Google News is available as an app on Android, iOS, and the Web. Google ...