Interesting history of Tsuen Wan

19 April 2024

Tsuen Wan has a history dating back hundreds of years but is today a thriving new town with a population of over 300,000, often called the “City in the Sky” because of its extensive overhead walkways connecting two MTR stations and other parts of the district. It is also home to Nina Tower, the sixth tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong, and Nina Park, a newly opened wood fossil park for local and tourists. Tsuen Wan is a true melting pot of new and old developments, with a rich heritage and culture.

Tsuen Wan was once called Pirate Bay

Tsuen Wan was known as Tsin Wan in ancient times, meaning Shallow Bay, because ships often ran aground there at low tide. In the mid-19th century, it was renamed Chuen Wan. Since the closing stages of the Qing Dynasty in the late 19th century, it has been referred to as Tsuen Wan. While today’s Tsuen Wan is a relatively safe community, piracy was rampant in this area during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was once commonly known as Thief Bay or Pirate Bay.

Fortified gate built against Yuan army

Towards the end of the Southern Song Dynasty in the 13th century, the Song Emperor and his troops could not resist the invading Yuan army and escaped to where is now called Hong Kong, settling in Tsin Wan. Legend says that the loyal villagers built fortified walls to help defend against the Yuan army in the area we now call Shing Mun Valley, which is located in the northern part of Tsuen Wan and means “fortified gate valley”.

Three centuries later, around the transitional period of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the villagers fought against the Qing soldiers along the same fortified walls. Although they were defeated and the walls were demolished, today’s Shing Mun Village, Shing Mun Reservoir and Shing Mun River echo the names of the old fortified gate.

Ancient Hakka village - Lo Wai

Completed in 1669, Lo Wai is the oldest Hakka village in Tsuen Wan, set against the lush backdrop of the Shing Mun Reservoir plantation area close to Hilltop Country Club. The village was originally formed by five family tribes surnamed Cheung, Wong, Hui, Tsang and Tang. The ancestral hall of the Cheung family, the only one left in the village, was listed as a Grade 3 historic building in 2010. Lo Wai overlooks the modern Shek Wai Kok and Luk Yeung Sun Chuen estates, and is surrounded by numerous Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian temples including the Western Monastery, Yuen Yuen Institute, Tung Po Tor Monastery and Lung Mo Temple.

Pineapples - Tsuen Wan’s signature produce of the past

While pineapples are a key ingredient of the well-known Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs, they were once widely grown in Hong Kong, especially around the Tsuen Wan area. According to a 1954 survey by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, 60% of the Hakka people in Tsuen Wan lived on farming, and pineapples were once the area’s major export product. Pineapple Dam at Shing Mun Reservoir still serves as a reminder of this.

Tsuen Wan was once known as Little Manchester

Most Hong Kong people are familiar with Manchester in the UK, especially football fans. In the early 1950s, many industrialists from the Mainland provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai moved south to Hong Kong, bringing an influx of money and know-how. They rapidly developed successful new businesses in the Tsuen Wan area, particularly in the textile industry. By the early ’60s, there were 30 yarn mills in Hong Kong, half of them located in this district. Reportedly there were about 23,000 workers in Tsuen Wan in 1961, accounting for around 70% of the total number in the New Territories. As Manchester was famed as the centre of the British textile industry at that time, Tsuen Wan became nicknamed Little Manchester.

Interesting history of Tsuen Wan

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