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
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 ...
s from China – former Nationalist soldiers and other
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 ...
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](_blank)
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
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 ...
s temporarily before they would be repatriated to Taiwan by the
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 ...
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
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 ...
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
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 ...
, 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

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.
See also
*
Military dependents' village
Military dependents' villages () are communities in Taiwan built in the late 1940s and the 1950s whose original purpose was to serve as provisional housing for soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines of the Republic of China Armed Forces, along ...
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 ...
page 5/12.
{{Authority control
Populated places in Hong Kong
Places in Hong Kong
Sai Kung District