Hatang Village, located in the mountainous area in the northeast of Shuen Wan Country Park, is one of the hidden villages in Hong Kong. The traces of past life have long been faded. Years ago, he planned to rehabilitate the village alone and became the only permanent villager in the village.
Seeing that most of the house has collapsed, he used a wooden cart from the Lai Chi Wo Wharf to carry a pack of 100 kilograms of cement up the mountain along the mountain road, just like an ant moving to build his home point by point, retrieving the worry-free happiness of the past in the most familiar environment.
▼Fage and his wife are daily in Hatang Village▼
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In the Hatang Village on the mountain, there is a restaurant that preserves the original Hakka taste. It uses wood fire and a large iron wok to prepare farm dishes. Stacks of tree trunks and branches to make a fire next to the stove. It also baked pineapple buns, piglet buns, wife cakes, etc. , You can also taste fresh bread in the mountains.
The boss's brother, the sister-in-law, and the cats and dogs raised by the owner became the signatures of the store painted on the exterior wall.
The kitchen is rudimentary, but it is well-equipped with old-style electric ovens and refrigerators for cold drinks.
Fage's own orchard produces lemons, longan, lychees, oranges, etc. It also has vegetable fields and can be self-sufficient without going down the mountain.
The village that is about to be forgotten, relying on the Fa brothers and his wife to restore the village.
Fa Ge, Fa Sao, and the cats and dogs raised, became the signatures of Stoll, painted on the exterior wall.
(Photo by Lao Minyi)
Even the ancestral house collapsed and the birthplace turned into a waste village.
Hatang Village was established by the Hakka people named Fan and has a history of more than 300 years.
Brother Fa was born here, and his childhood memories are all beautiful, "A lot of small road boys playing, making doll paper, bouncing balls... I haven’t even been to Fanling or Sheung Shui. At most, I had curly hair and bought shirts with my parents. pants".
Until the age of 15, Fa Ge worked in the city, worked in factories, tailors, and later learned a craft to make cakes and bread, and then traveled across the ocean to work as a cook in the Netherlands.
He still felt uncomfortable after leaving his hometown. He decided to return to Hong Kong and stop by his hometown of Hatang. Unexpectedly, the small village where more than 100 people lived in the past has long been deserted, and even the ancestral house has collapsed. Feeling, "I was born and raised here, it seems that I lost my home all of a sudden."
Fa Ge settled in this village without water, electricity and no one more than ten years ago. He rebuilt his home from scratch and became the housekeeper of the village.
(Photo by Lao Minyi)
Yixinfu Village ants move to build houses
The harsh environment didn't scare me, but instead I thought about a sense of mission for two weeks, retiring early and rehabilitating the village wholeheartedly, settled in this village without water, electricity and no one, rebuilt his home from scratch, and became the housekeeper of the village.
At that time, he temporarily lived in his uncle's ruined house, rebuilt his own house, and lived in a leaky environment for a year before finally having a tile to cover his head.
I picked up bricks from the surrounding area, estimated to be at least several thousand pieces, and from the Lai Chi Wo Wharf in the form of ants moving, and my sister-in-law transported 125 packs of cement up the mountain on a wheelbarrow. It's all a hundred catties."
The days of moving cement in those years lasted for a year. Fa Ge described the days of reclaiming wasteland as unhappy. Work started almost every day, and the whole person was about to disperse. "Starting at 9 o'clock in the morning, moving to 8 o'clock in the evening, there are only 8 packs. Two. One person, one bag, pull down and moo, take at least two minutes in a turn, and move all the way...in the summer, if you move to the body sweat, you must move to strain." Although I have never learned to get up, the home is still built. He is very confident in his work.
The power supply in the village was successfully restored in 2019. Fa Ge relied on fire and water lamps for lighting for a period of time. Later, he laid solar panels and said with a smile: “You don’t need to charge your mobile phone every 1 or 2 sunrise in Shatoujiao. A lot of time is wasted when going in and out.” Water source It was also another problem. Walking up the old water pipe, he found a pond that had long been submerged by tree vines and dead branches. He used a hoe to chop down the big tree, remove the boulder, and replace the moldy and rusty hose with a new one. Finally there is water to survive.
The road to village restoration is difficult. He has never thought of giving up. Seeing that he grows a clam pond full of fruits, he said with a little pride, "I plant it by myself, ok! It's so happy!"
Fa Ge and Fa Sao operate restaurants on the mountain, and the farm dishes attract many mountain visitors.
(Photo by Lao Minyi)
To preserve the tranquility of the countryside
Finally, I have to work hard, and I am used to living in a comfortable and quiet life. I believe that the village does not need to add commercial elements, and does not want to become a new attraction to introduce a large number of people, so I refused to set up a story hall in the village, and only hoped that everything would be maintained. In the original state, the original inhabitants will return someday, and the hikers who pass by will enjoy the snacks made by the couple.
"5 pounds of cream birthday cakes have been prepared. They are fresh. Everyone likes them. I have a craftsmanship. It’s not wasteful." He even ordered dozens of wife cakes, salted egg pastries, etc. in advance for guests living on Hong Kong Island. Find satisfaction.
Fage and his wife are accustomed to a comfortable and quiet life. They hope that the village will remain as it is. The original inhabitants will return someday, and hikers who pass by will enjoy their own snacks.
(Photo by Lao Minyi)
The Kat O Cultural Trail was opened to the residents to help them understand that the island does not want to set up a commercial area to destroy the tranquility. The Fisheries and Conservation Department spends RMB 250,000 to activate the Kat O Cultural Trail. The first batch of projects under the Rural Conservation Funding Scheme to improve the "fullness" of trash bins with solar compression bins is 20 million yuan, including Shaluo Tung and Tai Long Sai Wan
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