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[DEVELOPMENT] A town of changes

The Young Reporter (1979, May 01), 11(12), pp. 7.
Author: Patrick Chan, Adeline Ho.
Permanent URL - https://sys01.lib.hkbu.edu.hk/bujspa/purl.php?&did=bujspa0006330

By PATRICK CHAN and ADELINE HO

SHATIN Valley has been undergoing such vast redevelopment and transformation that old-timers can hardly recognise it.

The valley, with its extreme fertile soil, used to produce rice that was so succulent that it was shipped all the way to Peking to be served to the emperors of the Celestial Empire, according to legend.

But that was long ago.

There are no paddi fields to be found now, and the market and village houses are fast disappearing as new development surges ahead.

Today, Shatin is no longer the quaint sort of village favoured as a tourist spot.

And Shatin New Town, as with Tsunwan and Tuenmun, is being built as a balanced township with all modern basic amenities to meet the needs of the 500,000 people who will live there by 1985.

It is, after all, a mammoth undertaking by the Government and private developers — a project involving more than $5,000 million.

Since 1974 there has been massive reclamation work, levelling of hills and new roads cutting through the previously unspoiled countryside.

Behind all of this activity, however, the scenic spots remain.

The temples, monasteries, pagodas, restaurants are still there. But local residents and tourists are passing them by.

It seems these scenic spots have lost much of their fascination; they are being over-shadowed by redevelopment.

“Shatin is fast becoming an urban residential area that has lost much of its natural glamour. It no longer has the ‘tone’ or atmosphere of a countryside,” said Chan Wai, supervisor of the Shatin Floating Restaurant Ltd.

“Shatin has little to offer now for the tourists who prefer going to more remote and rural areas like Taipo and Castle Peak.”

Because of reclamation, the restaurant has to be moved next year — the seventh time in the last 10 years — to a place still not yet known.

“Most probably it will be Taipo or the sea opposite to the Shatin Racecourse,” he said, “and it will mean another loss of $100,000 or more.”

A spokesman for the Lung Wa Hotel, famous for roast pigeon, said their business has dropped 40 per cent because of the redevelopment that has been going on.

“Before, the place was easily accessible and people could park their cars right in front. But now, even old customers have trouble finding the way because the whole road network has been changed.”

However, the Temple of Ten Thousand Buddhas still remains popular with both tourists and local people.

Though with a history of only 29 years, the monastery complex with 12,800 small gold-plated Buddha images, a 9-storey pagoda and life-sized goddesses and Buddhas, has a natural fascination. There is no other place like it.

“Marvelous” , “incredible” were the words from a tourist couple who told the TYR reporters how they felt about the trip.

According to Ng Shing Kup, manager of the Temple, plans are being made to improve the site.

“A motor road will be constructed so visitors will not have to climb thousands of steps to reach the Temple.

“There will also be a restaurant and pther monasteries built nearby and the whole complex will then occupy a much larger area.”

Besides these famous landmarks, the development of New Shatin will provide more recreational facilities to meet the needs of the people who will live there by 1985.

There will be a country park, sports ground, a swimming pool and a network of special pedestrian and cycling paths.

The Shingmun River, which flows through the centre of the new town, will be realigned, dredged and cleaned to provide a pleasant place for boating.

Aside from providing housing for its residents, Shatin New Town will provide local employment opportunities in proportion to its projected increase in population.

When completed, Shatin New Town will have a population of about 550,000. Of this, 60 per cent will live in 11 public housing estates.

Of the 11 estates, the Wo Che Estate and the Lek Yuen Estate have been completed and are providing homes for 40,000 people and 19,000 people respectively.

Light industrial zones have been planned on the basis that one in every five residents will be employed there.

The light industry sites will be located in three main industrial districts — Fo Tan, and areas near Siu Lek Yuen and Pak Shek.

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