Qualla: Shek Pik

Shek Pik: Introduction

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Minghong, CC BY-SA 4.0. Somewhere beneath the still surface of Shek Pik Reservoir, the terraced paddy fields of four villages lie submerged. The farmers who worked them — about 260 people — were resettled to Tsuen Wan apartment blocks or relocated to nearby rural land when the dam was completed. The valley they left behind had been continuously inhabited since at least the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), and tradition holds it even longer: that a clan fleeing the Mongol advance at the end of the Southern Song (1127–1279) took refuge here and never left. Today the reservoir dominates a basin ringed by Lantau's green hills, while the South China Sea glitters at the valley's open southern end through three small bays.

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Image: Minghong | CC BY-SA 4.0

Shek Pik: Stone Marks on an Ancient Shore

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Minghong, CC BY-SA 4.0. Long before the farmers arrived, someone else was here. Neolithic carvings cut into the rock face near Tung Wan — geometric patterns etched by hand thousands of years ago — went unrecorded by outsiders until 1939, when researcher Chen Kung-chiek heard about them from local villag...

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Image: Minghong | CC BY-SA 4.0

Shek Pik: A Valley That Fed Itself

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mk2010, CC BY-SA 3.0. For centuries, the villages of Shek Pik Valley — Shek Pik Wai at the valley head, Fan Pui, Kong Pui, and the hamlet of Hang Tsai — were largely self-sufficient. The flat valley floor and surrounding foothills were terraced for paddy rice. Fishing supplemented the harvest. A Hau W...

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Image: Mk2010 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Shek Pik: The Price of Water

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit WMwiki, CC BY-SA 4.0. Hong Kong's postwar population was growing faster than its water supply. The colonial government looked to Lantau's uninhabited valleys as reservoir sites, and Shek Pik's enclosed basin was well suited. The villages were cleared. Most of the Shek Pik Wai residents moved to five-s...

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Image: WMwiki | CC BY-SA 4.0

Shek Pik: What the Valley Holds Now

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mk2010, CC BY-SA 3.0. The southern coastline of Shek Pik — the part the reservoir did not touch — retains a quieter character. Three bays open onto the South China Sea: Tai Long Wan to the west, Chung Hau in the middle, and Tung Wan to the east, where the Hong Kong Red Cross Shek Pik Camp has operated...

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Image: Mk2010 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Shek Pik: Reaching the Edge of Lantau

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mk2010, CC BY-SA 3.0. Access to Shek Pik requires commitment. From the east, South Lantau Road connects Mui Wo to the reservoir; from the north, Tai O Road and Keung Shan Road lead down from the fishing village of Tai O. There are no MTR stations, no quick connections to the city. That relative remote...

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Image: Mk2010 | CC BY-SA 3.0