Lin Ma Hang () is a village in the

Sha Tau Kok Sha Tau Kok is a closed city, closed town in Hong Kong. The last remaining major settlement in the Frontier Closed Area, it is Hong Kong's northernmost town. Geography The small rural village of Sha Tau Kok is located on the northern sh ...

area of Hong Kong and is situated north of 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 ...

, next to the

Shenzhen river The Sham Chun River, Shum Chum River, or Shenzhen River () serves as the natural border between Hong Kong and Mainland China, together with the Sha Tau Kok River, Mirs Bay and Deep Bay. It formed part of the limit of the lease of the New ...

, east of

Heung Yuen Wai Heung Yuen Wai () is a walled village in Ta Kwu Ling, North District, Hong Kong. Administration Heung Yuen Wai is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy. It is one of the villages represented within the Ta Kwu Ling D ...

and west of Hung Fa Leng.

Administration

Lin Ma Hang is a recognized village under the

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

Ta Kwu Ling Ta Kwu Ling is an area in the North District, New Territories, Hong Kong, located northeast of Sheung Shui, close to the border with mainland China. Ta Kwu Ling is one of three new development areas currently being planned for North Distri ...

District Rural Committee. For electoral purposes, Lin Ma Hang is part of the Sha Ta constituency, which is currently represented by Ko Wai-kei.

History

People originated in the village are the Yip (葉) (or Ip, Yap, Yapp), Lau (劉), Sin (冼) and Koon (官) (or Kwun). It is named after a

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

called Lin Ma (蓮麻) that can be found in the mid-level streams. Lin Ma Hang is part of the Four Yeuk (), which comprises Loi Tung,

Lung Yeuk Tau Lung Yeuk Tau (), commonly known as Lung Ku Tau () and also called Lung Ling () is an area located northeast of Luen Wo Hui in Fanling, New Territories, Hong Kong. Administration For electoral purposes, Lung Yeuk Tau is part of the Queen's Hil ...

, Lin Ma Hang and Tan Chuk Hang. The centre of the Alliance is the

Hung Shing Temple Hung Shing Temples or Tai Wong Temples are temples dedicated to Hung Shing Tai Wong (). Hung Shing temples have been widely built in southern China, especially Guangdong province The table provides a partial list of these temples. Hung Shing Fe ...

at Hung Leng. At the time of the 1911 census, the population of Lin Ma Hang was 516. The number of males was 199.

Abandoned lead mine

A lead mine was in operation in Lin Ma Hang starting in 1915.The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining Hong Kong Branch
Pb–Zn ore was mined there. The mine operated intermittently between 1915 and 1958, producing 16,000 tonnes of lead metal and 360,000 ounces of silver. The Government rescinded the mining lease in 1962 and the mine was abandoned the same year.

Fauna and flora

The abandoned lead mine now holds one of the most important bat colonies in Hong Kong, and was designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1994. The Lin Ma Hang Stream was designated as a SSSI in 2008. It supports 17 species of primary freshwater fish, representing 50% of all such species native to Hong Kong. The village is situated in the basin of the Robin's Nest () which is famous for its abundance in "Hanging Bell Flowers" (吊鐘花).

Building heritage

* The Residence of Ip Ting-sz is a declared monument * Old Bridge, Grade 3 historic building * Ip Ancestral Hall, Grade 3 historic building * Koon Ancestral Hall, Grade 3 historic building *

Kwan Tai Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on m ...

Temple, not graded * Lau Ancestral Hall, not graded * MacIntosh Fort on Kong Shan above Lin Ma Han, Grade 2 historic building

Access

Until 4 January 2016, the village was situated in the

Frontier Closed Area The Frontier Closed Area (), established by the Frontier Closed Area Order, 1951, and 1984 is a regulated border zone in Hong Kong that extended inwards from the border with Mainland China. Established to prevent illegal migrants and other i ...

and was therefore inaccessible to non-permit holders. Police_notice_re_access_to_Lin_Ma_Hang

Since 4 January 2016, the village was excluded from the Frontier Closed Area. Nonetheless, a portion of

Lin Ma Hang Road Lin Ma Hang Road () is one of the northernmost roads in Hong Kong. Most of the road was built along the border with mainland China along the Sham Chun River. The road spans from Man Kam To to Sha Tau Kok. The entire length of the road fell withi ...

, the access road to the village, between Wang Lek and Lin Ma Hang, still falls within the closed area. Therefore, permits are still required for anyone visiting the village by road to travel on this section of road. Green Minibus 59K from Sheung Shui Station operates to Lin Ma Hang. Passengers for Lin Ma Hang must have a closed area permit, or are required to alight at Wang Lek. A path (rough and with short steep sections in parts) parallel to the road outside the closed area has been built to allow non-permit holders to access or leave the village on foot. The village may also be accessed by hiking down from Robin's Nest.

International Bridge

There is also a small bridge, called the "international bridge" (國際橋）that crosses into Mainland China to allow local villagers on both sides of the border to cross and farm lots. It is located just outside the gate from the village to Lin Ma Hang Road. People using the bridge must have a special "Cross Border Farming Permit". The Mainland border post can be seen from the gate.Border Ecologies: Hong Kong's Mainland Frontier, p183

Gallery

File:LinMaHang02.jpg, Lin Ma Hang Village Office File:LinMaHang03.jpg, Village Office "Gold List" (recording villagers with a bachelor's degree or above) File:LinMaHang04.jpg, Red Lotus Pavilion (located opposite the village office) File:LinMaHang05.jpg, File:LinMaHang06.jpg, File:LinMaHang07.jpg, File:LinMaHang08.jpg, File:LinMaHang09.jpg, File:LinMaHang10.jpg, Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang11.jpg, Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang12.jpg, Interior of Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang13.jpg, Interior of Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang14.jpg, Interior of Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang15.jpg, Interior of Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang16.jpg, Interior of Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang17.jpg, Interior of Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang18.jpg, Interior of Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang19.jpg, A sedan chair in Yip ancestral hall, used for marriage in ancient times File:LinMaHang20.jpg, Yip Ancestral Hall File:LinMaHang22.jpg, Traditional village houses File:LinMaHang23.jpg, Traditional village houses File:LinMaHang27.jpg, The pond facing the buildings (the pond water has been temporarily drained) File:LinMaHang24.jpg, Kai Ming Gate File:LinMaHang25.jpg, Inside the Kaiming Gate (Note: The black memorial tablet on the left has a long history) File:LinMaHang26.jpg, Black memorial tablet File:LinMaHang28.jpg, Abandoned house File:LinMaHang29.jpg, File:LinMaHang30.jpg, File:LinMaHang31.jpg, File:LinMaHang32.jpg, File:LinMaHang33.jpg, File:LinMaHang34.jpg, File:LinMaHang35.jpg, File:LinMaHang36.jpg, File:LinMaHang37.jpg, File:LinMaHang38.jpg, Overlooking Lin Ma Hang Village File:LinMaHang39.jpg, Overlooking Lin Ma Hang Village

References

External links

Delineation of area of existing village Lin Ma Hang (Sha Tau Kok) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)

Manchester Chinese Community: Lin Ma Hang Yip Clan

100 Mapping Ling Ma Hang, submitted as part of thesis for Master of Architecture by Yeung Shan Yan, Cindy

* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPV78AUFZ-M Video taken on 5 June 2003 of minibus driving to Lin Ma Hang. The latter part shows the road along the border. {{coord, 22.551265, 114.182689, scale:5000_region:HK_source:Google_type:city, display=title Places in Hong Kong Sha Tau Kok