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in: Tai Po District, List of termini, Administrative districts
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Tai Po District

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Tai Po District (大埔區[Remark 1][Remark 2]) is located in the Northeast New Territories, occupying an area of 136 square kilometres. It is one of the 18 administrative districts in Hong Kong, with a strong emphasis on new town development and rural traditions, including Ting Kok, Tai Mei Tuk, Pat Sin Leng, Tap Mun, Tung Ping Chau, and Shap Sze Heung, etc.

Tai Po is part of the North East New Territories Constituency in the Legislative Council direct election.

History[]

Tai Po is one of the districts in the New Territories, covering two areas along the Tolo Harbour, Tai Po and Sai Kung North, with a history dating back to the Tang Dynasty. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the Tang clan established the "Tai Po Hui" (or Tai Po Market) north of Lam Tsuen River in the vicinity of the present-day Serenity Park. As the area was a major transport route and was close to the fishing port of Tai Po Hoi (Tolo Harbour), the market flourished and was gradually monopolised by the Tang clan.

During the late Qing Dynasty, in order to compete with the "Tai Po Market", the Man Clan in the New Territories and the neighbouring non-Tang Clan villages formed the "Tai Po Seven Pact" (大埔七約), which set up a new "Tai Wo Market" to the south of Lam Tsuen River (the present-day area of Fu Shin Street), and constructed the "Kwong Fuk Bridge" to the north bank of Lam Tsuen River, thus dominating the traffic in Tai Po, gradually replacing the status of the old market, which was called the "Tai Po Market", and the original Tang Clan's "Tai Po Market" was turned into the "Tai Po Old Market".

In 1899, after the British leased the New Territories, a flag-raising ceremony was held at a hilltop in the cape of Tai Po Kau to establish the Government House, the first administrative centre of the New Territories, and the New Territories Magistrate's Residence was constructed in Yuen Chau Tsai (House Island), which was completed in 1905. The two-storey building was constructed of red lime and red bricks in a typical colonial style, with a lighthouse on the roof to guide ships in Tolo Harbour at night, and was converted into the residence of the Chief Secretary for Administration in 1949, where 15 Chief Secretaries of Administration, including David Akers-Jones, were accommodated.

The opening of the Kowloon-Canton Railway British Section in 1910 and the opening of the Tai Po Market Railway Station (now the Hong Kong Railway Museum) in 1913 accelerated the development of Tai Po. In 1974, the Government decided to build Hong Kong's first industrial estate in Tai Po. Reclamation works for the Tai Po Industrial Estate commenced in 1976; at the same time, reclamation works to the north of Tai Po Market also commenced for the construction of Tai Yuen Estate, the first public housing estate in Tai Po.

In January 1979, Tai Po was upgraded to a new town with a view to providing adequate housing for 1.8 million people by the mid-1980s[1]. After Tai Yuen Estate was occupied in 1980, a number of housing estates sprang up in the area. In order to attract residents to take the railway, the former KCRC operated a number of feeder bus routes linking Tai Po Market Station with the major housing estates in the area. With the cancellation of Route K11 serving Sha Tin, as well as Routes K15 and K16 serving Kowloon, Tai Po became the only administrative district with MTR feeder bus services.

Nowadays, Tai Po is a well-developed district. In addition to the modernisation of new towns, the district has retained its traditional rural characteristics, such as the Fong Ma Po Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree ("Fong Ma Po - Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree" is displayed on the announcement system of the KMB Route 64K), as well as the area around Nai Chung and Tap Mun in Sai Kung North, which attracts a lot of visitors, and Hoi Ha Wan has even been designated one of the Hong Kong's marine parks. In addition, the World Wide Fund for Nature (Hong Kong) stationed at Yuen Chau Tsai Residence in 1986 as a research centre for nature conservation. The Tai Po Waterfront Park, opened in 1997, has a Returnification Monument on the waterfront between Fu Shin Estate and Tai Po Industrial Estate.

Street/road structure[]

Streets in Tai Po are simple in design, with most of the new town streets providing access to different parts of the district, except for the streets in Tai Po Market which are more difficult to navigate.

Lam Tsuen River is the landmark of Tai Po, and from Tai Po Market to Tai Po Centre, one can cross the Po Heung Bridge, while from Sha Tin to Tai Po Centre, one can take the Nam Wan Road and the Yuen Shin Road Flyover, which were only constructed in the 1980s.

Tai Po has a well-developed road network, with the Tolo Highway passing through the southern part of Tai Po, linking Fanling Highway, Tate's Cairn Highway and Tai Po Road - Sha Tin, which is now part of Route 9, giving access to the expressway from Kwong Fuk Road, Tai Po Tai Wo Road or Tai Po Road - Tai Wo Section. Tai Po Road is also a major trunk road in Tai Po District providing access to Sha Tin and Lam Tsuen, although the journey is more circuitous and the speed limit is lower. Apart from Tai Po Road, external streets and roads include Lam Kam Road (to Yuen Long), Tai Wo Service Road West (to North District) and Ting Kok Road (to Plover Cove and Pat Sin Leng).

Sai Kung North, on the other hand, is a rural area covering areas such as Shap Sze Heung and Tap Mun. Before the establishment of the road networks, residents mainly relied on ferries (Ma Liu Shui to Tap Mun route) to commute to and from Tai Po Kau (the pier was later relocated to Ma Liu Shui in Sha Tin), and thus it has always been categorised as a Tai Po district. Nowadays, Shap Sze Heung is an area along Sai Sha Road, with direct access to Sai Kung and Ma On Shan New Town, and Wong Shek Pier is one of the tourist attractions, with several bus routes terminating at Wong Shek Pier. Sai Kung North is not related to the Sai Kung North Public Transport Interchange located in Sai Kung District; besides, the general public does not regard Sai Kung North as part of Tai Po District, but as Sai Kung District, and Shap Sze Heung is often mistaken as an extension of Ma On Shan in Sha Tin District (especially since it is close to Ma On Shan, which makes the traffic flow quicker and more convenient than that to and from Tai Po Market [2]).

Bus and minibus termini[]

Template:List of Tai Po District Bus Termini Template:List of Tai Po District Minibus Termini Template:List of Tai Po District Non-franchised Bus Termini

Tai Po New Town[]

  • Tai Po Market Station Public Transport Interchange: It is connected to Tai Po Market Station, one of the major bus termini in Tai Po.
  • Tai Po Central Bus Terminus: Located north of Lam Tsuen River, between Tai Yuen Estate and Tai Po Centre, it is one of the major bus terminals in Tai Po.
  • Eightland Gardens Bus Terminus: It is located outside the Eightland Gardens on On Chee Road.
  • Fu Heng Public Transport Interchange: Located outside Fu Heng Shopping Centre at Chung Nga Road.
  • Fu Shin Estate Bus Terminus: Located inside Fu Shin Estate at the estuary on the north side of Lam Tsuen River.
  • Fu Tip Estate Public Transport Interchange: Located on the ground floor of Fu Tip Shopping Centre on Choi Tip Street.
  • Kwong Fuk Bus Terminus: Located within Kwong Fuk Estate at the estuary south of Lam Tsuen River.
  • Wan Tau Tong Bus Terminus: Located outside Wan Tau Tong Shopping Centre, Po Wan Road.
  • Tai Wo Bus Terminus: Located on the ground floor of Tai Wo Shopping Centre, connected to Tai Wo Station.
  • Kam Shan Minibus Terminus: Located in the southern part of Tai Po, south of Tai Wo Estate.
  • Tai Po (Ting Tai Road): Located at Ting Tai Road, Tai Po, near Tai Wo Bus Terminus.
  • Tai Po Tau Bus Terminus: Located outside Tai Po Sports Ground, opposite Tai Wu Garden.
  • Tai Po Industrial Estate Bus Terminus: Located between Tai Kwai Street and Tai Cheong Street in Tai Po Industrial Estate.
  • Tai Po Nethersole Hospital: known as Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital, the bus stop and minibus terminus are located at Chuen On Road to the northeast of the hospital.
  • Tai Po Centre (Tai Po Tai Wo Road): Located outside Tai Po Centre on Tai Po Tai Wo Road, it is the starting point of MTR Feeder Bus Route K14.
  • Tai Po Market (Wai Yan Street) minibus terminus: Located at Wai Yan Street, Tai Po Market, the terminus of green minibus.
  • Tai Po Market (Nam Shing Street) minibus terminus: Located at Nam Shing Street, Tai Po Market, which is the terminus of green minibus.
  • Tai Po Market (Po Heung Street) minibus terminus: Located at Po Heung Street, Tai Po Market, which is the terminus of green minibus.
  • Tai Po Market (Wan Tau Street) minibus Terminus: Located at Wan Tau Street, Tai Po Market, which is the terminus of green minibus.
  • Tai Po Market (Wai Yee Street) minibus terminus: Located at Wai Yee Street, Tai Po Market, which is a green minibus terminus.

Tai Po Rural[]

  • The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK): Located in the north-eastern part of Tai Po, the terminus is outside the main entrance of the campus building at Lo Ping Road.
  • Sam Mun Tsai: Located in the northeastern part of Tai Po, the terminus is at the end of Sam Mun Tsai Road.
  • Tai Mei Tuk: Located in the north-eastern part of Tai Po, the terminus is at the junction of Ting Kok Road and Tai Mei Tuk Road.
  • Tung Tsz: Located in the north-eastern part of Tai Po, with a Scout Training Centre.
  • Fung Yuen: Located at the north-eastern part of Tai Po, with a terminus outside the Mont Vert Clubhouse.
  • Shan Liu Road: Located in the north-eastern part of Tai Po, with the terminus at Shan Liu Road.
  • Hong Lok Yuen: Located in the north-western part of Tai Po.
  • Kau Lung Hang (Tai Wo Service Road West): located in the north-western part of Tai Po (Tai Wo Service Road West), the southbound bus stop (towards Tai Po) is located in the Tai Po District area, while the northbound bus stop (towards Fanling) is located in the North District area. The origins of KMB 271P and 273C routes are located at this southbound bus stop.
  • Kau Lung Hang: Located in the north-western part of Tai Po, inside Lo Wai access road in Kau Lung Hang.
  • Nam Wa Po: located in the north-western part of Tai Po, along the Tai Wo West slip road.
  • Wai Tau Tsuen: located in the north-western part of Tai Po, north of the Lam Kam Road Interchange.
  • Ma Wo: located in the southern part of Tai Po, west of Wan Tau Tong Estate.
  • San Uk Ka: Located in the southern part of Tai Po, to the south of Wun Yiu.
  • Ta Tit Yan: Located in the southern part of Tai Po, at the end of Wun Yiu Road.
  • Ng Tung Chai: Located in the south-western part of Tai Po, to the east of Kadoorie Farm.

Sai Kung North (partial areas)[]

  • Wong Shek Pier: Located on the north-west coast of Sai Kung East Country Park, the terminus is at the end of Pak Tam Road, where one can take a boat to Tap Mun.
  • Tseng Tau: located at Shap Sze Heung, east of Nai Chung.
  • Hoi Ha (Jone's Cove): Located on the coast of Hoi Ha Wan.
  • Nai Chung: Located in Shap Sze Heung, formerly the terminus of the Route 99, which was downgraded to an intermediate stop in 2004 due to the extension of the route to Wu Kai Sha; with the launching of Route 87E from this stop on 29 February in 2016, this stop has become a terminus again.
  • Shap Sze Heung: Located near GO PARK Sai Sha on Hoi Ying Road, Shap Sze Heung.

For other termini in the Sai Kung North area, please refer to the article Sai Kung District.

Tolo Harbour[]

Disused termini[]

  • Tai Yuen Bus Terminus: Located outside Tai Lok House Tai Yuen Estate, abandoned after the opening of the Tai Po Central Bus Terminus.
  • Former Tai Po Market Railway Station: Located in the vicinity of Yan Hing Street, Tai Po Market, connecting to the former Tai Po Market Railway Station, which was the main bus terminus in Tai Po at that time, and was replaced by the newly-built Tai Po Market Station Public Transport Interchange in the 1980s.
  • Ha Hang: Located near Tai Po Industrial Estate; used to be the terminus of KMB Route 31. The actual address is unknown due to its age.
  • Shek Pun Ho: Located near Lam Tsuen; used to be the terminus of KMB Route 31. The actual address is unknown.
  • Sap Pat Heung: Located in Shap Sze Heung, with its terminus at Kei Leng Ha Lo Wai; used to be the terminus of KMB Route 289.
  • Tai Fuk Street Public Transport Interchange: Located opposite to KMB Tai Po Depot at Tai Fuk Street, Tai Po Industrial Estate, which has been converted into an MTR Feeder Bus Maintenance Centre.

Bus routes[]

Template:List of Tai Po District Bus Routes Template:List of Tai Po District Minibus Routes Template:List of Tai Po District Resident Bus Routes

Gallery[]

View of the Tai Po New Town from the Returnification Tower
View of the Tai Po New Town from the Returnification Tower

Remarks[]

  1. ↑ Cantonese pronounciation: daai6 bou3 keoi1
  2. ↑ Mandarin pronounciation: dà pǔ qū

References[]

  1. ↑ Tai Po, Planning Department, 2019
  2. ↑ At present, the Ma Liu Shui to Tap Mun route no longer passes through Sap Sze Heung, thus losing the direct traffic between Tai Po Market and Sap Sze Heung, leaving Ma On Shan as the only nearest new town from the area.

External links[]

Template:Administrative Districts

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