San Tin (新田) is located in the northern part of Yuen Long District, New Territories. It is one of the six major townships in Yuen Long District. This area consists of Tai Sang Wai, Fairview Garden, Ngau Tam Mei, Mai Po, San Tin Estate, Lok Ma Chau, etc.
The boundary of Yuen Long District and North District is at Pak Shek Au Interchange and Ki Lun Shan, while Futian District of Shenzhen City is far away from Lok Ma Chau Frontier Closed Area, and in between is the Shenzhen River.
History[]
San Tin is located in the northern part of Yuen Long District, close to the Shenzhen River. In the past, villagers made a living by farming and raising fish. The Man family immigrated here as early as the 15th century.
Housing estates such as Palm Springs and Royal Palms were completed successively on Castle Peak Road and San Tam Road. Container yards, open-air parking lots and other facilities are also located along the highways. San Tin also has many cultural attractions, such as Tai Fu Tai and Man Tin Cheung Park, concentrated in the San Tin Village area. Tai Fu Tai Mansion and Lun Fung Man Kung Ancestral Hall are even listed as statutory monuments.
Mai Po[]
Mai Po was formerly agricultural and fishing land. In the 1920s, villagers in the Deep Bay area built base enclosures in low-lying areas along the coast and raised shrimp, fish, oysters, algae and brackish water grass to make a living. In 1964, Sir Peter Scott, founder of the World Wildlife Fund, visited Mai Po and wrote a report, recommending to the Hong Kong government the establishment of a nature reserve in the Deep Bay area to protect the biologically rich mudflats and mangrove swamps and should be reserved for scientific research and educational purposes.
However, in 1975, Canada Development Co., Ltd. acquired more than 100 hectares of fishing ponds in Tai Sang Wai and filled them in on a large scale to develop housing Fairview Garden. This was strongly opposed by conservationists, which as a result, the government agreed to establish "Mai Po Nature Reserve" in 1983, which was handed over to the WWF Hong Kong Branch for management, and a "Site of Special Scientific Interest" and an "ecological compensation" plan were established in the area, aiming to develop Mai Po into a protected area for educational purposes.[1][2]. Since then, Mai Po has gradually become a paradise for birds and bird watchers.
About 1,500 hectares of wetlands in Mai Po and the Inner Deep Bay were listed as "Ramsar Sites" under the Ramsar Convention on 4 September 1995, becoming a wetland of international importance. In order to reduce the impact of human activities on the ecology of the area and restrict access to ecologically sensitive areas, the government has designated the Mai Po Swamp and Inner Deep Bay, which mainly consist of Kei Wai and intertidal mangroves, in accordance with the Wildlife Protection Ordinance, Chapter 170 of the Laws of Hong Kong, as "restricted areas". [3]
Lok Ma Chau[]
Lok Ma Chau was included in the Frontier Closed Area in the 1950s and fell within the scope of Closed Road. Lok Ma Chau Control Point and Huanggang Port in Futian District, Shenzhen City were put into service in December 1989, and passenger customs clearance was implemented in March 1997. From 27 January 2003, Round-the-clock passenger customs clearance was implemented. In order to facilitate passenger customs clearance, the government has put Lok Ma Chau (San Tin) Public Transport Interchange into service. For details about the Lok Ma Chau restricted area, please see "Lok Ma Chau".
The Fanling Highway and San Tin Highway of the New Territories Ring Road System (now included in Route 9) were opened successively in the 1980s and 1990s. The last section of Castle Peak Road was opened to traffic in January 1993, and Castle Peak Road was also reconstructed in conjunction with the New Territories Ring Road scheme. Entering the 21st century, in order to improve the freight flow at Lok Ma Chau Control Point, the government further renovated the San Tin Interchange, making San Tin a hub for land transportation between Mainland China and Hong Kong.
On 10 June 2013, the Hong Kong government opened part of the Lok Ma Chau restricted area, including part of the Mai Po Nature Reserve, covering an area of approximately 710 hectares. However, the Lok Ma Chau Control Point and the feeder public transport interchange remains within the restricted area.[4]
Street structure[]
The highway network that runs through San Tin uses Route 9's Fanling Highway and San Tin Highway as the main highways, with multiple interchanges connecting to Castle Peak Road, San Tan Road and Kwu Tong Road.
Since Castle Peak Road and San Tam Road are built on both sides of San Tin Highway, several bus stops along the two roads have the same names. Taking the "Pak Shek Au Interchange" bus stop as an example, the bus stop on Castle Peak Road is at the eastern end of San Tin, Yuen Long District, while the bus stop on Kwu Tong Road is at the west end of Kwu Tong in North District.
The villages in the district are spread out across the area. The village roads in each village can only connect to Castle Peak Road, San Tin Road, Kwu Tong Road or Shek Wu Wai Road, and cannot directly travel between the two main roads. A number of private roads run through Fairview Garden, which only designated vehicles and resident buses can enter. Visitors must register their information at the gate before entering the housing estate.
Parallel roads situation[]
| Parallel roads situation (South to North) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Main Road (Castle Peak Road) | Tam Mi section | Mai Po section | San Tin section | Chau Tau section |
| Route 9 | San Tin Highway | Fanling Highway | ||
| Eastern Main Road | San Tam Road (To Mai Po Tsuen) | Kwu Tong ROad (From Tun Yu School) | ||
Remark: Interchanges are not shown here.
Bus and GMB termini[]
Lok Ma Chau[]
For details, see "Lok Ma Chau".
Outside Lok Ma Chau[]
| Bus Termini and GMB Termini in San Tin | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Location | Type | Remarks | |
| Fairview Park Bus Terminus | Inside Fairview Park | Resident's Bus Terminus | ||
| Palm Springs Bus Terminus | Inside Palm Springs | Resident's Bus Terminus | ||
| Royal Palms Bus Terminus | Inside Royal Palms | Resident's Bus Terminus | ||
| Ki Lun Tsuen Minibus Terminus | Northeastern San Tin | GMB Terminus | The terminus is in Kwu Tong, but the village entrance is in San Tin | |
| Tai Sang Wai Minibus Terminus | Southwestern San Tin | GMB Terminus | ||
| Yau Tam Mei Bus Terminus | Southern San Tin | GMB Terminus | The terminus is at the village hall and the former site of Ho Sang Farm respectively. | |
| Siu Hum Tsuen Minibus Terminus | Eastern San Tin | GMB Terminus | Located near San Tin Barracks | |
| Man Tin Cheung Park | Eastern San Tin | GMB Terminus | Applicable to short-distance services on Route 75 | |
Related articles[]
- Lok Ma Chau
- Fairview Park
References[]
- ↑ "About Life": Keeping Mai Po Thriving, WWF, 2014
- ↑ 香港濕地何價，香港電台通識網
- ↑ Information sought by Hon Kenneth Leung, Legislative Council Paper No. CB(1)1289/14-15(01), 6 October 2015
- ↑ Second stage of reduction of Frontier Closed Area to be implemented, Hong Kong SAR Government Press Release, 7 June 2013.
External links[]
Template:Administrative districts