San Tin

San Tin (Chinese: 新田), or San Tin Heung (新田鄉), is an area located near Lok Ma Chau area in the New Territories and belongs to the Yuen Long District (元朗區), Hong Kong.

The area was largely developed by the clan with surname Man (文). According to their genealogical document, it has been suggested that they are the descendants of the younger brother of folk hero Man Tin Cheung (文天祥) in the end of Song Dynasty. Their ancestors came to Hong Kong with the young emperors to flee from Mongolian invaders.

Geography

The area was originally marshes and not suitable for cultivation and thus few people lived in the area. The Man clan decided to settle in the area in 15th Century. They dried the marshes and filled them with soil bit by bit and turned them into 800 hectare of rice paddies. It is reflected by its name San Tin, which means "new field"s.

Areas in San Tin

The San Tin areas are divided into nine villages within the area most notable areas are Wing Ping Tsuen (永平村), which is close to the Tai Fu Tai Mansion, and Fan Tin Tsuen (蕃田村).

The areas around San Tin are covered in wetlands hence their main products are cabbages (like Chinese cabbage or Kai-Lan) and ducks when the village was still a farming community.

Chieftains

Each village in the area has its own chieftain who takes care of the ceremonial activities as well as tourist information, also they are the ones who make decisions if anything needs to be changed in that area, for example whether a new house should be allowed to be built or if a building need to be demolished. They also represent the village when they go to gatherings with other villages from New Territories.

New chieftains are chosen through voting from the local area of the village when the current chieftain decides to retire from duty. Chieftainhood is not hereditary and can not past down to their children, and thus anybody from the village, regardless of status or personal economy can apply as long as that person got the same surname from the village. The system is to some extent democratic, however so far there hasn't been any female chieftain in any village around New Territories.

Notable things in San Tin

The village is famous for Tai Fu Tai an ancestor house built around 1800 century and a memorial statue of Wen Tianxiang.

Also the village is famous for its unspoiled natural habitat and the village dish Poon Choi (literally translated as "Bowled dish" in which assorted meat and vegetables are put into into an iron bowl with concentrated soya sauce). Once a year, in Autumn, every part of the San Tin village (and also other villagers in New Territories) hold an annual Poon Choi festival in which everybody in the village (and also guests from outside the village) eats Poon Choi.

San Tin was the subject of a study on the social effects of out-migration, conducted by Professor James Watson, who is now a professor at Harvard. He documented how the movement of many young men in the 1960w to Europe affected the village function.

External links

* [http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Monument/en/monuments_19.php Hong Kong government brochure]