Entrance gate of Tin Sam Tsuen, Sha Tin District 01

Tin Sam Village Da Jiu Festival Celemony view 20161113

Tin Sam Village or Tin Sam Tsuen (), sometimes transliterated as Tin Sum, is a village in

Tai Wai Tai Wai () is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong, located between Sha Tin and the Lion Rock, within the Sha Tin District. With three rapid transit stations, one of which an interchange station serving two lines, five bus termini and ...

Sha Tin District Sha Tin District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. As one of the 9 districts located in the New Territories, it covers the areas of Sha Tin, Tai Wai, Ma On Shan, Fo Tan, Siu Lek Yuen, and Ma Liu Shui. The district is the most populo ...

, Hong Kong. It is located west of

Sun Chui Estate Sun Chui Estate () is a public housing estate in Tai Wai, New Territories, Hong Kong near Lung Hang Estate, Che Kung Temple and MTR Tai Wai station. It consists of eight residential buildings completed in 1983, 1984 and 1985 respectively. Backg ...

, north of Lung Hang Estate, and southeast of Festival City. Part of Tin Sam Village consists of Tin Sam Wai (), a historic walled village.

Administration

Tin Sam 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

Sha Tin Rural Committee Sha Tin Rural Committee () is a rural committee representing the interest of villages in Sha Tin District Sha Tin District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. As one of the 9 districts located in the New Territories, it covers the ar ...

. For electoral purposes, Tin Sam Tsuen is part of the Tin Sum constituency., which was formerly represented by Tsang Kit until July 2021.

History

Tin Sam was founded in the late

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

(1368-1644).

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, Tin Sam
/ref> It was a

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 ...

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 ...

, historically inhabited by the Choi (), the

Wai Wai or WAI may refer to : Places * Wai, Maharashtra, a small town in India ** Wai (Vidhan Sabha constituency), a Maharashtra Legislative Assembly constituency centered around the town * Wao State (Vav, Wai, Way), a former princely state in Banas K ...

(), the Leung (), the Tsang () and the

Liu / ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text ...

(). A

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

was built for its protection, and was later filled up and used as a fish pond. The

Che Kung Temple Che Kung Miu (), also called Che Kung Temple, are temples dedicated to Che Kung, who was a general during the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279) in imperial China. He is believed by some worshipers to have been involved in the attempt to ...

in Tai Wai was built and initially managed by Tin Sam Village. The village lost its managerial rights in the late 19th century in a lawsuit against the Kau Yeuk (, "Alliance of Nine" illages, a regional organization of various groups in

Sha Tin Valley Sha Tin District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. As one of the 9 districts located in the New Territories, it covers the areas of Sha Tin, Tai Wai, Ma On Shan, Fo Tan, Siu Lek Yuen, and Ma Liu Shui. The district is the most populo ...

, that was settled in a lawsuit at the ''

yamen A ''yamen'' (''ya-men''; ; Manchu: ''yamun'') was the administrative office or residence of a local bureaucrat or mandarin in imperial China. A ''yamen'' can also be any governmental office or body headed by a mandarin, at any level of govern ...

''. The Kau Yeuk had provided evidence that it made significant contributions to the renovation of the temple. The Kau Yeuk could prove its case by referring to the rhymed couplets that were inscribed on both sides of the main entrance and that bore its name. The temple was subsequently jointly managed by nine villages of Sha Tin, while Tin Sam Village continued to enjoy some privileges in the worship of Che Kung.

. Historic Building Appraisal
Choi Ancestral Hall, No. 142 Tin Sam
/ref>

. Historic Building Appraisal
Che Kung Temple, Che Kung Miu Road, Tai Wai
/ref> Since 1936, the temple has been administered by the

Chinese Temples Committee The Chinese Temples Committee () is a statutory body in Hong Kong established in 1928 under the Chinese Temples Ordinance () (Cap. 153). It is mainly responsible for the operation and management of twenty-four temples directly under its management ...

Features

Historic buildings in the village include the Choi

Ancestral Hall An ancestral shrine, hall or temple ( or , vi, Nhà thờ họ; Chữ Hán: 家祠户), also called lineage temple, is a temple dedicated to deified ancestors and progenitors of surname lineages or families in the Chinese tradition. Ancestra ...

, also known as Chung Kwong Family Hall (), built around the 1920s, the Leung Ancestral Halls (), two ancestral houses, largely rebuilt and occupied by tenants,SCL - NEX/2206 EIA Study for Tai Wai to Hung Hom Section. Environmental Impact Assessment Repor
Appendix 4.3. Built Heritage Survey.
October 2011East Rail Extensions - Tai Wai to Ma On Shan. Environmental Impact Assessment Report
Archaeological and Cultural Resources
1999 the Liu Ancestral Hall (), and the Entrance Gate, built during the

Qing Dynasty 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-speak ...

.SCL - NEX/2206 EIA Study for Tai Wai to Hung Hom Section, Final Environmental Impact Assessment Report
Figure 4.2.1. Locations of Known Built Heritages (Sheet 1 of 8)
October 2011. Shows the location of the historic buildings of Tin Sam Village. Two rectangular holes are above the front doorways of the Gate for feng shui benefit and for security watching.

Festival

The Da Jiu Festival of the village is organized every 10 years. It was celebrated in December 2006 and in 2016.

References

External links

Delineation of area of existing village Tin Sum (Sha Tin) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)
*

Pictures of Tin Sam Wai entrance gate
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Pictures of Choi Ancestral Hall
{{coord, 22.369805, 114.178170, display=title Tai Wai Walled villages of Hong Kong Villages in Sha Tin District, Hong Kong