Ping Shan Heritage Trail - New Territories

Normally it's hard in Hong Kong to find any sight or historic monument that's older than your Grandad, but right up in the north-western corner of the New Territories is a group of ancient monuments linked together by the Ping Shan Heritage Trail.

Declared a national monument only in December 1993, the trail runs from just outside Tin Shui Wai MTR station (just past Yuen Long), and links together monuments built by the Tang clan, one of the "five great clans" which occupied the territory from the 12th century onwards.

In most other areas these buildings have been flattened, but here you'll find incredibly well-preserved pagodas, temples and ancestral halls dating back more than 600 years, as well as a 200-year-old walled village which you

can explore. It's all extremely well-preserved, and sits oddly among the drab modern buildings

of three new villages right on the cusp of one of the New Territories' famous mammoth New Cities.

You can enter all the buildings along the 1km route and it won't cost you a penny! It takes maybe an hour to walk the route with stops along the way, and good connections by bus and MTR mean you only have to walk the route one way. Most of the buildings close at 5pm.

Coming out of the MTR the first monument you come to is the Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda, the only surviving ancient pagoda in Hong Kong. Its name means Pagoda of Gathering Stars, and it was supposedly built by the seventh generation ancestor of the Tang clan over 600 years ago. You can enter the shrine inside for free, but don't climb the steps up to the first floor...the security guard will come after you!!!

You can get a map from here, and follow the road (not the path at the side of the pagoda) round past some rather ugly truck stops and a pond until you get on the path to the walled village of Sheung Cheung Wai. It is 200 years old and the gate house, shrine and some of the old houses are still in their original form. Before you get to the village you'll pass the "Shrine of the Earth God", a lot less impressive than its name suggests. It was built to protect the villagers, but in-keeping with Hong Kong's attitude towards history it now sits next to the rubbish bins, and is itself a receptacle for a great deal of litter. Best to move along quickly.

After the walled village you come to the old village well and the Yeung Hau Temple, which is believed to have a history dating back several hundred years. It has

three bays housing shrines to Hau Wong (believed to be a Song Dynasty general who gave up his li

fe to protect the last two emperors of the dynasty) as well as Kam Fa (Patron Saint of Expectant Mothers) and To Tei (the Earth God).

Around the corner in the centre of the new village sit the Yu Kiu and Tang Ancestral Halls (on the right and left respectively). These two buildings are two of the most impressive on the trail. The Tang hall is the oldest, with its construction dating back to around 700 years ago, while the Yu Kiu hall was built next door sometime in the early 16th century. Both have undergone major restoration work, but both are still in use and retain a sense of importance through the photographs on show inside showing visits from high-ranking British officials in the late 19th century.

Further along the Kun Ting Study Hall and adjoining Ching Shu Hin provide two of the interesting buildings to explore. In the latter especially no guards watch over you, allowing you to walk around the various corridors and shady rooms of what was once a a guest house for prominent visitors and scholars. You can also see the entrance to the Shut Hing Study Hall, even though the rooms of the hall were demolished in 1977. All of these buildings date from the 1870s.

Across the road, a path leads to the Hung Shing Temple, which originally dated from 1767 but which was renovated in 1963. The temple is supposedly in honour of a man named Hung Hei, who was given the title of "Kwong Lee Hung Shing Tai Wong" after his death by the Governor of Kwong Lee in the Tang Dynasty.

The final building you'll come to walking in this direction is the Old Ping Shan Police Station, dating from 1899. It is one of very few remaining pre-war police stations in the New Territories, and now houses the Heritage Trail visitors centre (open 10am-5pm daily except Mondays and public holidays). Here you'll get a thorough explanation of everything you've just seen, so if you've missed anything you can check it out again on the way back.

All in all the trail makes for something a little different to Hong Kong's usual tourist fare, and while it may not be a full day's activity in itself could easily be combined with visiting the other walled villages in nearby Tsuen Wan, which would also provide an insight into how modern-day Hong Kong people live in the New Territories.

For a map and more information visit the website for the Antiquities and Monuments office: http://www.amo.gov.hk/