you are intrigue by the village of your honey especially the stories and history of this particular village along the old castle peak road. these villages belong to the original settlement of new territory.
shun fung wai (順豐圍) is just one of the villages along the road. it's not your first time here but you rediscover this village with a different perspective as you look into new lens, discover the new shun fung wai.
from the office of his uncle nearby the entrance of the village, this big head mountain (大头山) is clearly visible and stood mightily from a distance. this is the only scene that brought back some smiles on his face each time when he mentions...
"big head mountain/大头山" or "tai tau shan" in cantonese and along with the memories associated to this mountain.
at the original village (within the wall) of your honey's home village - a place where he deposited his childhood's memories. the village has extended a bit and beyond the wall but what is in the wall remains the same until today....
he is obliged ( or rather force) to take you for a tour of some of the doors and walls that you have never set your foot on.
inside the original wall, or the inner court of the wall, the houses are run down, not maintained at all. it showcases the age like the wall itself. the world has moved on, but this place remains, neglected and never got renew or catch up with the time.
it was a disturbing journey for him as he uncovers his childhood memories of his grandparents, uncles and aunties living in the this village. likewise the scene of this old lady with the rather authentic "village hat", this scene is rare these days in the modern hong kong but you still see them here in shun fung wai.
as he unfolds the stories of the farms, the fields, the hardship, you didn't sense any emotion of joy but sadness as if you are forcing him to remember some chapters of his life that he would prefer not to remember too often. although until this stage, you still don't know why.
anyway, back to the village story, the boy is now grown up and live in the lowland. you love the charm of the old village, although you will never understand the hardship of the people living here in the past.
but the walls, the bricks, the doors could convey some messages of the past and each of them has a story to tell...
2 comments:
how far from the city is this place? i've never been to the outskirts of hk, except for new territories n tt's not considered tooo outskirt now.
tt hat on the lady...wow, i used to see women wearing tt here when i was very young. those are hakka hats so this is a hakka village?
can understand the sad memories. like most people from southern china who left, it was abject poverty tt drove them out. my father said he ate a lot of sweet potatoes while on the run from the communists. but he longed for china everyday. i think tt's bc he left when he was grown up, diff from johannes. about the brinjal recipe, i'll try post it next week:)
not that far, it is in between tuenmun and yuen long. With the westrail it's just about 40 min to HK island.
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