Tung Lung Fort, also known as Fat Tong Fort, is a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

on the

Tung Lung Chau Tung Lung Chau, previously known as Nam Tong Island or Nam Fat Tong is an island located off the tip of the Clear Water Bay Peninsula in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It is also referred by Hong Kong people as Tung Lung To or Tung Lung Islan ...

on the south east water of

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 ...

History

It is said the fort was built as a part of a maritime defence system to protect trade and fend off

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

s. The fort, according to one record, was built from 1719 to 1724 in the

Kangxi The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...

era (1662-1722) to guard against pirates, after defeat of the

Koxinga Zheng Chenggong, Prince of Yanping (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), better known internationally as Koxinga (), was a Ming loyalist general who resisted the Qing conquest of China in the 17th century, fighting them on China's southeastern ...

Administration in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. It is rumoured to have been attacked by the famous pirates Cheng Lien Chang and Cheng I, and more recently by the infamous

Cheung Po Tsai Cheung Po Tsai (; born Cheung Po; 1783–1822) was a navy colonel of the Qing dynasty and former pirate. "Cheung Po Tsai" literally means "Cheung Po the Kid". He was known to the Portuguese Navy as ''Quan Apon Chay'' during the Battle of th ...

. The fort was abandoned in 1810 when its personnel moved to another coast fort at the tip of the

Kowloon Peninsula The Kowloon Peninsula is a peninsula that forms the southern part of the main landmass in the territory of Hong Kong, alongside Victoria Harbour and facing toward Hong Kong Island. The Kowloon Peninsula and the area of New Kowloon are collect ...

which would later become

Kowloon Walled City Kowloon Walled City was an ungoverned and densely populated ''de jure'' Imperial Chinese enclave within the boundaries of Kowloon City, British Hong Kong. Originally a Chinese military fort, the walled city became an enclave after the New Ter ...

Features

The fort is situated at the north-eastern part of the island, 35 m above the water with cliffs on three sides, and commands the Fat Tong Mun Channel. No vessel could pass through without being seen entering or leaving

Joss House Bay Joss House Bay, also known as Tai Miu Wan, is near the south end of Clear Water Bay Peninsula in Hong Kong. The Cantonese name ''Tai Miu Wan'' means "the bay of large temple" after the oldest Tin Hau Temple in Hong Kong. Tin Hau Temple Th ...

. The fort may also have been a signal station, passing messages on to military headquarters in

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

. When in use it was manned by an average of 25 men of the Tai-pang-hsi navy. Although no sketches or historic descriptions of the fort are available, observation of the ruins has given an idea of the structure. It was rectangular, composed of 10 feet high rubble stone walls provided with an arch-shaped brick gate for the guards to pass in and out.

Conservation

Tung Lung Fort became 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 ...

in 1977 and was restored in 1988. Tung Lung Fort Special Area was designated in 1979 and covers 3 hectares. The Area contains a fort and a campsite.Country Parks & Special Areas
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References

External links

Tung Lung Fort
{{coord, 22, 15, 18, N, 114, 17, 49, E, source:kolossus-zhwiki, display=title Tung Lung Chau Archaeological sites in Hong Kong Declared monuments of Hong Kong Forts in Hong Kong 1724 establishments in China