Tuen Mun New Town
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Tuen Mun New Town (formerly Castle Peak New Town), commonly referred to simply as Tuen Mun, is a satellite town of Hong Kong. It is one of the
new towns A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...
that were developed by the
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 ...
Government in 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 ...
from the 1960s. It was built around the existing rural local centre of
Tuen Mun Tuen Mun or Castle Peak is an area near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in what is now Hong Kong and can be dated to the Neolithic period. In the more re ...
( Castle Peak). The new town covers most of the urban area of
Tuen Mun District Tuen Mun District is one of the 18 administrative districts of Hong Kong. It is the westernmost continental district of Hong Kong. It had a population of 487,546 in 2011. Part of the district is the Tuen Mun New Town (or simply Tuen Mun), w ...
.


History

The initial plan for Tuen Mun New Town can be traced to a report by consulting firm Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick & Partners in 1959. At that time the project was known as Castle Peak. The history of settlement in
Tuen Mun Tuen Mun or Castle Peak is an area near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in what is now Hong Kong and can be dated to the Neolithic period. In the more re ...
can be traced back 6,000 years. The area was part of a larger region which was leased from the
Qing Empire 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 ...
to the
British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...
in 1898 for 99 years as part of the
Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory The Convention between the United Kingdom and China, Respecting an Extension of Hong Kong Territory, commonly known as the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory or the Second Convention of Peking, was a lease signed between Qing ...
. The colonial government, faced with overcrowding resulting from large numbers of immigrants from China as well as natural increase, embarked on various new towns projects to create large housing developments to house the rapidly growing population. Construction of the new town started in 1966. In the next year, the government
reclaiming In linguistics, reappropriation, reclamation, or resignification is the cultural process by which a group reclaims words or artifacts that were previously used in a way disparaging of that group. It is a specific form of a semantic change (i.e. ...
of land near an area known as "
Tuen Mun San Hui Tuen Mun San Hui () more commonly known as just San Hui () is an area of Tuen Mun District, Hong Kong and is a major food market and commercial quarter in the district. In urban planning, it is part of Tuen Mun New Town (Tuen Mun). Etymolog ...
" (). San Hui was considered as a market township of the area at that time, which was a market centre for the surrounding area. Further reclamation was carried out in
Castle Peak Bay Castle Peak Bay is a bay outside Tuen Mun. Tuen Mun River empties into the bay. In the past, many Tanka fishermen harboured at the bay. In 1513, explorer Jorge Álvares arrived in the Pearl River Delta and started a Portuguese settlement, ...
, among others, until the late 1960s. The government also levelled the hillside area to obtain land for the town during that period. J. M. Wigglesworth, a senior planning officer of the government, has stated that choosing coastal sites is partially due to land tenure rights in the New Territories. Thus the government preferred land reclamation. In 1973, the new town project was renamed Tuen Mun New Town. Rumour has it that the town was renamed because Castle Peak was more famous for a
psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...
which was named after the area. The major construction works, such as land reclamation, underground drainage, electricity infrastructure, and roads were completed in 1974. However, the last sale of the land lease of the new town by the government won't carried out until 2019. The first public housing estate of the new town was
San Fat Estate San Fat Estate () was the first public housing estate in Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong, located on reclaimed land near the Tuen Mun River, at the junction of Pui To Road and Tuen Mun Heung Sze Wui Road. It consisted of four residential bloc ...
. It was completed in 1971.


Geography

Tuen Mun New Town, as of 1971, was by road and by sea from Kowloon. There was little chance of flood at that time. The new town is situation in the valley between Castle Peak and
Tai Lam Tai Lam () or Tai Lam Chung () is an area of Tuen Mun District, in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Village Tai Lam Chung Tsuen () is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. It is one of the 36 villages represented wi ...
hill (should be
Kau Keng Shan Kau Keng Shan ( Cantonese: 九逕山) is a hill in Tuen Mun, the New Territories, Hong Kong and stands opposite from Castle Peak. Kau Keng Shan has a height of . During the Ming dynasty era (1368–1644), the area around the hill was used as a def ...
). Before the development, it was a major fishing port with a land-based population of 22,500 people. Studies suggested that the area should be developed into a satellite city of 1 million population. As of 2011 census, whole Tuen Mun District, which covers Tuen Mun New Town and other urban and rural areas, had a population of 487,546 people.


Design

The development model is constructed around a town centre. The town is also served by multiple lines of the Light Rail. According to the early draft of the new town, the settlement was designed to have land allocated for industrial use, which would provide employment to residents, however this did not eventuate. As Hong Kong transformed into a service-oriented economy, only 30% of residents in the western New Territories (including the Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, and Tin Shui Wai New Towns) worked locally, according to 2011
census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
. In 2019, some industrial buildings of the new town applied to be rezoned for commercial use. However, it was also reported that due to the opening of the
Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge (HZMB) is a bridge–tunnel system consisting of a series of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and four artificial islands. It is both the longest sea crossing and the longest open-sea fixe ...
, some industrial buildings were rented by logistic companies in 2018. A number of logistics companies also expressed interest in land leases near the
River Trade Terminal The River Trade Terminal (RTT) is the only container terminal in Hong Kong for river cargo. The operator is known as River Trade Terminal Company Limited. Located in Siu Lang Shui / Pillar Point, within Tuen Mun Town, Tuen Mun District, it mainly ...
in 2018. The road infrastructure of the town to other areas of Hong Kong relies on
Tuen Mun Road Tuen Mun Road is a major expressway in Hong Kong which connects Tuen Mun with Tsuen Wan, within the New Territories. It is part of Hong Kong's Route 9, which circumnavigates the New Territories. Opened in 1978, it was once the major trunk rou ...
and Castle Peak Road, as well as roads to northern
Yuen Long District Yuen Long District (formerly romanised as Un Long) is one of the districts of Hong Kong. Located in the northwest of the New Territories, it had a population of 662,000 in 2021 Geography Yuen Long District contains the largest alluvial pla ...
. Until the opening of the
West Rail The West Rail line () was a rapid transit line that formed part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong until 27 June 2021. Coloured magenta on the MTR map, the line ran from Tuen Mun to Hung Hom, with a total length of , i ...
in 2003, local residents suffered from traffic congestion on Tuen Mun Road and Castle Peak Road. However, as of 2019, the railway line also reached its capacity and the government had planned new road to connect the town to the CBD via the site of the
Lantau Tomorrow Vision Lantau Tomorrow Vision () is a development project in Hong Kong proposed by the previous two Chief Executives of Hong Kong. The previous Chief Executive Carrie Lam proposed in her 2018 policy address which includes the creation of a third core bu ...
project.
Tuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok Link The Tuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok Link (, abbreviated as TM–CLKL) is a road project in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It comprises two elements: the "Northern Connection" and the "Southern Connection". The Northern Connection comprises an undersea tu ...
was opened in 2020.
Tuen Mun Ferry Pier Tuen Mun Ferry Pier (屯門碼頭), or Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal, is a public pier located in the southern area of Tuen Mun, Hong Kong. Tuen Mun Ferry Pier, Tuen Mun Pier Head, and Tuen Mun Ferry Pier stop (MTR Light Rail) refer to the street-le ...
serves as the pier for the town to connect to Mainland China, and Macau, as well as local destinations such as Lantau Island. In the past it also had scheduled ferries to
Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...
. The boundary and land uses of the town are still regulated by Tuen Mun Outline Zoning Plan. The government still periodically updates the plan. The first plan was approved by
Governor-in-Council The King-in-Council or the Queen-in-Council, depending on the gender of the reigning monarch, is a constitutional term in a number of states. In a general sense, it would mean the monarch exercising executive authority, usually in the form of ap ...
in 1967. As of 2018, the statutory boundaries of the town are "the ridges of Castle Peak to the west,
Lam Tei Lam Tei () is an area in the Tuen Mun District of the New Territories, Hong Kong. The region lies at the north end of Tuen Mun city. It is highly rural, with Miu Fat Buddhist Monastery being a landmark of the region. History Several villages o ...
Interchange of Castle Peak Road to the north, and
Tai Lam Country Park Tai Lam Country Park, established on 23 February 1979, is a country park located in Tai Lam, at the south of Yuen Long Town, Kam Tin and Shek Kong and east of Tuen Mun Town, in the western New Territories of Hong Kong. This country park has an a ...
to the east. To the southeast the area extends to
Siu Lam Siu Lam () is an area and a village in Tuen Mun District, Hong Kong. Administration Siu Lam is one of the 36 villages represented within the Tuen Mun Rural Committee. For electoral purposes, Siu Lam is part of the So Kwun Wat So Kwun Wat, comm ...
Interchange of
Tuen Mun Road Tuen Mun Road is a major expressway in Hong Kong which connects Tuen Mun with Tsuen Wan, within the New Territories. It is part of Hong Kong's Route 9, which circumnavigates the New Territories. Opened in 1978, it was once the major trunk rou ...
, while to the southwest it extends to Tap Shek Kok." In 2017, the local council rejected the government's plan to convert some land from "government, institution and community" use or "open space" to residential.


Tuen Mun town centre

The town centre was designed to have public library, education centre, theatre, convention and exhibition hall, arts museum, as well as government building that connects to commercial buildings, which house supermarkets, banks and other shops that provide daily needs. In a history book edited by Lau Chi-pang () and Liu Shuyong (), they give a positive review on the town planning, which they describe the Tuen Mun town centre is the "centre of gravity" () of the town: In 1971, the section of the town that encompassing the existing market town
San Hui Tuen Mun San Hui () more commonly known as just San Hui () is an area of Tuen Mun District, Hong Kong and is a major food market and commercial quarter in the district. In urban planning, it is part of Tuen Mun New Town (Tuen Mun). Etymolog ...
was considered as the most-valuable land for high-rise private residential use. These residential area are designated as Tuen Mun Area 10, 11 and 13 in the OZP, which they are bordering one to another. Area 11 also accommodated the planned town centre. Tuen Mun Area 34, due west to Area 11 and 13, was designed to be an open space. Area 34 is now known as
Tuen Mun Park Tuen Mun Park (), formerly known as Tuen Mun Town Park, is located in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong. It is the largest town park in the New Territories, covering . The park sits between the Tuen Mun River and Tuen Mun Town Centre, near Tuen Mun Town ...
. News reports also consider residential blocks of the , Kam Wah Garden,
Tuen Mun Town Plaza Tuen Mun Town Plaza (S as tmtplaza; Chinese: 屯門市廣場) is the largest shopping mall in the NW New Territories of Hong Kong. Established in 1988 and located in the town of Tuen Mun, it was developed by the Sino Group. It provides a large ...
and are the four major residential estates of the town centre. In urban zoning, they were located at the aforementioned Area 11, as well as on a small strip of Area 37 of the Tuen Mun OZP. Another private residential estate, Tuen Mun Centre (), is situated at Area 10, which also marked as the site of the San Hui. Another land lease, Tuen Mun Town Lot №513, which was sold by the government in 2014, was also considered as next to the town centre and the railway station by the real estate critics. Nowadays, near to the Tuen Mun railway station, are Tuen Mun Town Hall, Tuen Mun Public Library, Tuen Mun Clinic, Tuen Mun Government Offices, Tuen Mun Law Courts, Tuen Mun Park, as well as shopping centres such as V City, The Trend Plaza Shopping Arcade, Tuen Mun Town Plaza shopping centre, as well as
pentahotel Penta Hotels is a hotel brand with 28 hotels with this name across Europe and Asia . Business overview Penta's hotels feature Penta PlayerPad Rooms featuring gaming consoles and other arcades facilities. The brand also pioneered the "check in a ...
Tuen Mun, etc. Those public facilities were mostly located in Area 11 as well as Area 37, while the V City and its associated residential blocks, are located in Area 10. The railway station itself is located above the river, which divides Area 10 to Area 9.


Politics

Some constituencies of the
Tuen Mun District Council The Tuen Mun District Council () is the District Council of Tuen Mun District, in the New Territories. It is one of 18 such councils. The Council consists of 32 members with 31 of those elected through first past the post system every four year ...
serve the new town, although the boundaries of the constituencies differ from the boundaries of the urban planning OZP. The executive branch of the district-level government, the Tuen Mun District Office of the
Home Affairs Department The Home Affairs Department is an executive agency in the government of Hong Kong responsible for internal affairs of the territory. It reports to the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, headed by the Secretary for Home Affairs. Purpose The Dep ...
, is located on the second floor of Tuen Mun Government Offices, a building located within the new town at 1 Tuen Hi Road.


Gallery

File:Kau Keng Shan 1.jpg, View of Tuen Mun New Town and
Kau Keng Shan Kau Keng Shan ( Cantonese: 九逕山) is a hill in Tuen Mun, the New Territories, Hong Kong and stands opposite from Castle Peak. Kau Keng Shan has a height of . During the Ming dynasty era (1368–1644), the area around the hill was used as a def ...
from Castle Peak. Image:Tuen Mun Town Centre 201409.jpg, Tuen Mun Town centre File:Residence in Sam_Shing area.jpg, Residence in Sam Shing area.


See also

*
Hong Kong Gold Coast Hong Kong Gold Coast is a private housing estate served by Castle Peak Road, near Castle Peak Bay, in So Kwun Wat, Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong. Developed by Sino Group, it includes 20 residential buildings completed in two phases (in ...
, a private housing estate built on the shores of the Castle Peak Bay *
Castle Peak Power Station The Castle Peak Power Station () is the largest coal-fired power station in Hong Kong. It is situated in Tap Shek Kok, Tuen Mun District, on the north shore of Urmston Road. It was named after the nearby Castle Peak. The station consists of four ...
, an electric power station that located within the town boundaries *
Hung Shui Kiu Hung Shui Kiu is an area between Ping Shan and Lam Tei, in the western part of the New Territories of Hong Kong. It covers parts of Yuen Long and Tuen Mun districts. It is a largely rural residential area. Several Housing Authority blocks ...
, a new town which is located partially in Tuen Mun District


References

{{HK new towns 1960s establishments in Hong Kong New towns in Hong Kong New towns started in the 1960s