Sha Chau (, formerly transliterated as ''Saw-Chow'')
/ref> is an island in the northwest waters 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 Delta ...

. It is off the shore of

Lung Kwu Tan Lung Kwu Tan () is an area located in the western part of the Tuen Mun District in Hong Kong. Geography The area is located to the southwest of Castle Peak and consists of Lung Kwu Tan and Lung Kwu Sheung Tan. Lung Kwu Tan is a beach with b ...

near

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 ...

in the mainland

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 is ...

, separated by the

Urmston Road Urmston Road ( Chinese: 龍鼓水道, literally 'Dragon Drum Channel', also named as 暗士頓水道) is a broad body of water between Lantau Island and Tuen Mun in Hong Kong. It forms an inshore passage between the northwest end of Victoria Ha ...

waterway.

Geography

Sha Chau is composed of four islets including Sheung Sha Chau (), Tai Sha Chau (), Ha Sha Chau () and Siu Sha Chau ().Brief Information on proposed Grade Nil Items. Item #1400

History

Sha Chau was a shelter for British merchant ships carrying opium during the Qing era.Antiquities and Monuments Offices - Introduction to 1444 Historic Buildings. Item #1400
/ref>

Features

Tin Hau Temple Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong are dedicated to Tin Hau (Mazu). Over 100 temples are dedicated (at least partially) to Tin Hau in Hong Kong. A list of these temples can be found below. Famous temples Famous Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong include: ...

is located on Siu Sha Chau. According to inscriptions, the temple was initially built in 1846 by fishermen from

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, ...

off Sha Chau. The temple was destroyed by a fire in the 1970s and was rebuilt in 1998. It was a Grade II Historic BuildingList of Graded Historic Buildings in Hong Kong
(as at 6 November 2009) from 1981 to 2010, when its listing was revised to "no grade". An aviation fuel receipt facility (the Receipt Jetty) is located at Sheung Sha Chau. The Receipt Jetty is where bulk intake of fuel for

Hong Kong airport Hong Kong International Airport is Hong Kong's main airport, built on reclaimed land on the island of Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong. The airport is also referred to as Chek Lap Kok International Airport or ''Chek Lap Kok Airport'', to distinguish ...

takes place. The Receipt Jetty is connected to twin submarine pipelines which carry the fuel to

Chek Lap Kok Chek Lap Kok is an island in the western waters of Hong Kong's New Territories. Unlike the smaller Lam Chau, it was only partially leveled when it was assimilated via land reclamation into the island for the current Hong Kong International ...

. Sha Chau was initially intended to be a temporary location for the facility. Tai Sha Chau is the site of an approach surveillance radar (ASR) and of a Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) for air traffic control.

Conservation

Since 1996, the island, together with

Lung Kwu Chau Lung Kwu Chau (; also previously transliterated as ''Tung Koo'', ''Tung Koo'', ''Toon Oo'' or ''Toon-quoo'') is an island at the northwest water of Hong Kong. It is off the shore of Lung Kwu Tan near Tuen Mun in the mainland New Territories, separ ...

and Pak Chau fall within the boundaries of the Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park. The three island have been listed as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

since 1979.Environmental Protection Department: Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs)
It is known as a ''dolphin sanctuary'' where is the habitat for the

Chinese white dolphin The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (''Sousa chinensis'') is a species of humpback dolphin inhabiting coastal waters of the eastern Indian and western Pacific Oceans. This species is often referred to as the Chinese white dolphin in mainland Chi ...

References

External links

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
Tin Hau Temple, Sha ChauPictures
*Pictures of Sha Chau
Environment study from WWF HK

Aerial image from Google MapAerial video
{{coord, 22.3449, 113.8897, type:landmark_source:enwiki-googlemaplink, display=title Uninhabited islands of Hong Kong Tuen Mun District