PIONEER OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE AND NATURE CONSERVATION, Kadoorie Farm (嘉道理農場), Hong Kong
On the northern slope of Tai Mo Shan (大帽山) at a place called Pak Ngau Shek (白牛石) in the area of Lam Tsuen (林村), 148 hectare of organic farms, botanical gardens and mature forests terracing up to the summit of Kwun Yum Shan (觀音山) reveal over half a century of efforts by the Kadoorie Farm (嘉道理農場). Established in 1956, Kadoorie Farm has always stood at the forefront of Hong Kong’s agriculture, experimenting on new techniques and providing agricultural aid to farmers in need of support. In 1951, the Kadoorie brothers (Horace and Lawrence) established the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association (KAAA) in an attempt to help the sudden influx of Mainland farmers into Hong Kong during the Chinese Civil War in the late 1940’s. They picked Pak Ngau Shek (白牛石) near Lam Tsuen (林村) to establish an agricultural facility engaging in experiments on profitable and effecting farming and animal breeding, and training the new farmers with their developed techniques. Today, Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (嘉道理農場暨植物園) diversifies their effort to promote organic farming, sustainable living, nature conservation and education. They also run extensive rehabilitation program for wild animals in Hong Kong.
Linked by 9 km of roads and 8 km of trails, various highlights of the Kadoorie Farm spread over the slope of Kwun Yum Shan (觀音山).
One of the big highlights at the lower section of Kadoorie Farm is the “Eco Garden” (生機園), exhibiting different types of self sufficient and compact farming in a community scale.
The garden presents natural and organic ways to maintain soil’s nutrients and insect control, and the best combination of vegetables for each season.
Other than its freshness and taste, the organic vegetables such as the purple cabbages are also beautiful.
Spherical bird scarers are hung over a cluster of rainbow chards in the Eco Garden.
A wavy fence separates the Eco Garden with the other terraced farms and botanic gardens.
Other than organic farming, more innovative planting techniques are also examined at the Eco Garden. Some farming techniques that requires less space or soil may suit urban living well.
At the Piers Jacobs Wildlife Sanctuary, native mammals such as a Barking Deer or Muntjac (麂) have been rescued as an orphan and raised in the sanctuary.
The wild boar is also another rescued orphan at the sanctuary. Both wild boars and barking deer can be found in the forests in and around Kadoorie Farm.
In the old days, pig breeding was an important work at the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association (KAAA). Today a few Da Hua Bai Pigs (大花白豬) are kept at the farm for educational purposes.
Amphibians and reptiles are both vulnerable groups of wildlife in Hong Kong due to habitat loss. Kadoorie Farm has a few of the native species at the Amphibian and Reptile House and Reptile Garden.
Interesting pavilions and artworks are all over the farm, including a dragon boat pigeon house.
And also the fish mosaic at the Cascade Garden near the Chicken House.
As the farm terraces up the hillside of Kwun Yum Shan (觀音山), the view to the surrounding landscape becomes more spectacular.
The Butterfly Path winds up the hill through dense forests and open terraces, following part of an old trail which led the locals up the hill of Kwun Yum Shan (觀音山) for a religious blessing.
In order to preserve the natural feel, there is minimal modern safety infrastructure provided at the Butterfly Path.
9 km of roads circulate up and down the Kwun Yum Shan (觀音山), going through some densely forested areas, the habitat for some native species in Hong Kong, such as the barking deer.
… and the wild boar.
At 550m above sea level, the summit of Kwun Yum Shan (觀音山) is the highest point in Kadoorie Farm. For centuries, farmers came up to the summit to seek blessings from the goddess of Kwun Yum.
The summit of Kwun Yum Shan (觀音山) allows visitors to have fine view of the New Territories and even Shenzhen on a fine and clear day.
The summit of Kwun Yum Shan (觀音山) is at 1812 ft, or 550 m.
Kwun Yum Shan (觀音山) is sandwiched between Tai To Yan (大刀屻) to the north and Tai Mo Shan (大帽山) to the south.
Heading downhill, visitors can either take a shuttle bus or walk down a winding road.
Along the downhill road, sounds of monkeys can often be heard. Occasionally visitors may spot monkeys jumping from one tree to another.
YI O (二澳) & TAI O (大澳) AT NIGHT, Western Lantau Part 2, Hong Kong
The trail from Fan Lau to Yi O was less well maintained than the path we walked in the morning. It took us about 40 minutes to walk from Fan Lau Sai Wan (分流西灣) to the farming village of Yi O (二澳). This was our second visit of Yi O. A little over two years ago, we came to Yi O and found a beautiful valley where a few farmers trying hard to reintroduce rice farming back to Lantau Island. Yi O, a farming village with over two hundred years of history and over a thousand villagers in its heyday, became an abandoned village in the 1970s when the last of its inhabitants moved out to the city. In 2013, a farming cooperative secured a 30-year lease after negotiations with the original four clans of villagers to re-cultivate the land of Yi-O for organic rice paddies. Since then more lands were cultivated and more helpers were hired each year. Over 10% of Yi-O’s land had been worked on to develop the farm-to-table business. In the past, growing rice in a constantly lightly flooded plot in front of village homes was a self-sustainable way of living for Yi-O inhabitants. Nowadays, the cooperative tried to revive this method, but were still experimenting with more efficient ways to yield more crops. Under the late afternoon sun, the golden rice paddies revealed a lovely rural dream. In the era of enormous concerns regarding food safety, the farming experiment of Yi-O might prove crucial for Hong Kong to reduce some degree of reliance on food imports.
Yi O lies in the embrace of lush-green mountains from both sides.
The golden rice paddies looked promising. Perhaps it was almost harvest time for these fields. Because of its small output, it isn’t easy to buy a bag of rice from Yi O. The farming cooperative has a small shop in Tai O to promote their products.
We found our way to the main path in the middle of Yi O, and continued to walk north towards Yi O Bay.
Winding through the village of Yi O, we could still encounter a number of abandoned homes and construction equipment.
The sun was low and so as the tide when we reached Yi O Bay. The tidal flat is the ideal place for mangrove trees to thrive.
As we left Yi O Bay and headed towards Tai O, a few dogs came the opposite direction towards Yi O. One by one the dogs walked across the mudflat and disappear into the village of Yi O.
The mudflat of Yi O Bay faces north towards Pearl River Estuary.
Reflection of the western sun and distant mountains and the incoming tidal water on the mudflat of Yi O Bay was quite picturesque.
The sun was fading fast behind the silhouette of mountains adjacent to Yi O.
The flag of Yi O flew high at a nearby concrete pier.
Despite the hazy weather, the sunset over Pearl River Estuary was quite spectacular.
About an hour after we left Yi O, we arrived at the small village of Fan Kwai Tong (番鬼塘), across the bay from Tai O.
We walked across the Tai O Promenade from Fan Kwai Tong (番鬼塘) to Tai O (大澳). The tide was coming in as the last twilight faded.
In early evening, the popular Tai O wasn’t as busy as we thought. Without the tourist groups, it was our first time to experience the charm of Tai O as a tranquil fishing village but not a busy tourist trap with vendors trying to sell you all kinds of souvenirs and snacks.
Without the tourists, we could leisurely admire the beauty of the fishing community. After a long day of hike, we decided to have dinner in Tai O before returning to the city centre.
As we entered Tai O, vendors selling dried seafood to tourists were about to close their stalls.
We soon reached the iconic suspended bridge of Tai O. The festive lights from the Chinese New Year were still up.
We crossed the suspended bridge to enter the main part of the fishing village.
Without the noise from tourists, Tai O was quite peaceful. Many inhabitants were preparing dinner in their stilt houses.
We passed by an interesting shrine dedicated to the deity of the local land.
Tai O Community Centre is the main venue for cultural activities at the fishing village.
We passed by a number of shrimp paste shops and manufacturers, an industry that Tai O has been famous for many generations. Many of the shops were already closed for the day.
After wandering through Tai O, we ended up at Tai O Heritage Hotel. The hotel was established in 2009, after extensive renovations were carried out for the historical police station built in 1902. We dined at the glass roofed restaurant Tai O Lookout in the hotel. The food was nothing spectacular but the historical setting of the complex and the airy atmosphere of the glassy building offered us a pleasant experience to finish the day.
After dinner, we strolled through the village once again heading for the bus station at the village entrance.
The tide was much higher than an hour or two ago, and so as the moon.
All the stores near the bus station were closed. We waited for about ten minutes before boarding a Lantau bus for Tung Chung at North Lantau, where we would switch to the MTR, Hong Kong’s super efficient metro system, to return home.
