The fading of Nga Tsin Wai Tsuen 正在湮滅的衙前圍村

Nga Chin Wai Tsuen (lit. "walled village in front of the local bureaucrat's office") the only walled village retaining the original clans, is facing the fate of demolition. It is in the San Po Kong areas in Hong Kong. The Nga was built in 1570 comprising of Chan, Ng and Lee clans, with a history of over 400 years. It is the oldest historical village.

Unlike those walled villages in the New Territories which have a separate external wall for security, the Nga village only relies on the connection of the walls of the stone houses to form the protection walls to safeguard against the pirates. The main entrance is an archway with a plague marked with 3 Chinese characters of "overflowing prosperity". On top of the main entrance was an observational tower. A temple of the Goddess of Heaven was built in the center of the village. The Nga village was in rectangular design with about 100 houses connected among 3 main roads and 6 side-lanes.

In 1982, one of the biggest land developers in Hong Kong ignoring the opposition from the community, initiated the redevelopment plan of the areas by demolishing the acquired historical houses one after the other in order to prevent the possibility of preserving the Nga Chin Wai Tsuen as a historical legacy. Although Hong Kong government has eventually intervened to retain the Nga village, most of the houses in the walled village had already been destroyed and the overall architectural structure of Nga Chin Wai Tsuen could not be restored. As such, Hong Kong government could only require the land developer to keep the archway, the temple and a few houses of better shape as historical legacy.

According to a British historian on Kowloon Peninsular,  the Kowloon peninsular has two historical legacy prior to the British occupation:  one is Hau Wong Temple and the other is Nga Chin Wai Tsuen in Kowloon City which is the last walled city in the urban build-up areas of Hong Kong. Although the buildings are not good looking, the houses are small and the lanes are narrow, these are the actual values for preserving the village, retaining the actual shape and outlook of the Kowloon Peninsular prior to the British occupation in Hong Kong. It is sad to see that the fading of the Nga Chin Wai Tsuen is the result of the supremacy of the land developers of Hong Kong, the inability to protect and maintain the heritage, the lack of awareness and sensitivity of the Hong Kong government in preserving the historical legacy.

Before Nga Chin Wai Tsuen has completely faded out, we hope to reminisce about the golden past and the historical implications of a walled village through the album of the relics of these village houses. 

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Photo equipment:
Nikon D300s, Nikon GP-1 GPS
AF-DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6

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衙前圍村是香港唯一仍然保留原居民的圍村，現在面臨清拆的命運。衙前圍村位於九龍新蒲崗。 圍村建於1570年，以陳、吳、李三姓為主，有四百年的歷史，是香港歷史最悠久的村落。它不似新界其他的圍村，四周建有護城牆。衙前圍村則依頼村屋的外牆相連，成為護城牆，抵禦海盗的入侵。圍村正門有一牌樓，上有「慶有餘」牌扁，並建有瞭望塔。村的中央建有天后廟。圍村以方形設計，內有百多間石屋，分三條主街和六條橫巷作交通。

1982年地產發展商為開發該區，不理區內居民為要保留具歷史價值的衙前圍村而反對遷拆，逐一收購超過百年的古屋後，立刻拆毀，目的是阻止保留圍村的進行。後來香港政府終於支持保留圍村，並介入阻止清拆具歷史的村屋，可惜為時已晚，圍村已被拆得七零八落，無法保留圍村的整體結構。最後，決定要發展商保留圍村正門牌樓和幾間較為完整的石屋，作為歷史古蹟。

據一位九龍英國史學家指出:「九龍區只留下了兩處英國人佔領九龍前的歷史遺蹟，一為侯王廟，另外一處便是九龍城衙前圍村，這是香港市區最後一條圍村，雖然衙前圍城沒有漂亮的建築物，而且屋小路窄，但這正是需要保留的價值，保留著英國佔領九龍前該區的真實面貌。」 

我感到悲哀﹐ 眼見衙前圍村正在湮滅，乃地產霸權的惡果和政府當局對維護歷史遺蹟不力、意識薄弱和敏感度不足所致。在衙前圍村消失前，希望透過這輯照片，在人為破壞中的凋零村屋，譲我們追懷圍村的風光和歷史！

The main entrance of Nga Chin Wai Tsuen with the plague of "Overflowing Prosperity".  The top part of the gate was an observational tower for the walled village.
衙前圍正門上有「慶有餘」牌扁，上層原是瞭望塔。

The main entrance leads to the main street of the village
正門內望是主街

Most of the houses were acquired by the land developer
大部份村屋已被收購

One of the remaining households
仍有一戶人家

A senior folk in the village
村內的長者

A desolate house was seen through the wire netting
鐵絲網內，石屋仍在人已去。

A narrow side lane by the temple
天后廟旁是一條窄窄的橫巷

The wall of a house was supported by steel bars
旁邊已拆的房屋外牆要靠支柱支撐

A desolate house
空置的村屋

The high-rise overshadows the walled village
圍外高樓閉天

On both sides of the wall
牆裡牆外

This stone house still presents the elegance in historical legacy
仍見圍村僅存古雅的石屋

Lacking any way out?
無奈？

One of the reserved stone houses
其中一間可獲保留的石屋

Hay on eaves witnessed the trace of time
簷瓦雜草，歲月留痕。

A left alone family
仍未搬遷的人家

A broken window of colors
七彩破窗

How is tomorrow?
明天會怎樣?

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