7 Sheung Shui Wai
Another larger site to explore, Sheung Shui Wai actually consists of not just one, not two, but nine traditional villages. They were established by the Liu clan—one of the five great clans of the New Territories—who arrived in Hong Kong during the Yuan dynasty. Their first village, Wai Loi Tsuen, wasn’t built until the 1500s, and it is also one of the few existing villages that preserved its original moat over the centuries.
As you thread your way through the string of connected villages, you’ll run into ancient wells, ancestral halls, and even chess tables and stone daises from bygone eras. A contrasting sight from a more recent era would be the colonial-style Old Sheung Shui Police Station in Po Sheung Tsuen, setting up Sheung Shui Wai as a representation of Hong Kong’s hybrid past.
How to get there
- Take the East Rail line to Sheung Shui Station (Exit A3).
- Walk along San Fung Avenue until you almost reach the end.
- Turn left to Po Shek Wu Road, cross the roundabout using the subway.
- Emerge where there’s a Seventh Day Adventist Church.
- Walk straight along the path until the end.