Template:Short description Template:About Template:Use Hong Kong English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox Chinese

File:Tai Wai aerial overview 2017.jpg
Aerial view of Sha Tin (foreground), Tai Wai (centre) and the Shing Mun River, looking southwest. The mountains at the back mark the limit between the New Territories and New Kowloon, which is located beyond.
File:Tai Wai in Map of the San-On District (1866).png
Tai Wai on the "Map of the San-On District" by Simeone Volonteri (1866)
File:HKHistory ShaTinNewTown1.jpg
View of Sha Tin New Town under development in 1983, looking northeast toward the Shing Mun River and Tolo Harbour. Tai Wai is in the foreground.
File:Tai Wai Hui aerial view 201802.jpg
Aerial view of Tai Wai Village and surrounding area in 2018.

Tai Wai (Chinese: 大圍 Template:IPAc-en) is an area in the New Territories, Hong Kong, located between Sha Tin and the Lion Rock, within the Sha Tin District.

With three rapid transit stations, one of which an interchange station serving two lines, five bus termini and several trunk roads and tunnels connecting it to other parts of the New Territories, such as Tsuen Wan, and Kowloon, Tai Wai is an important transport node in Hong Kong. Template:TOC limit

GeographyEdit

Tai Wai occupies the southwestern end of the Sha Tin Valley. The Sha Tin area is located directly northeast of Tai Wai. Hill ranges separate Tai Wai from New Kowloon in the south, and from Tsuen Wan in the west. The Tai Wai Nullah, sometimes referred to as the upper stream of Shing Mun River, flows through Tai Wai, where it joins the Shing Mun River. The Shing Mun River then flows in a southwest–northeast direction across the Sha Tin Valley towards Tolo Harbour.

HistoryEdit

Sprouting from traditional farming villages growing rice, vegetables and fruits, such as choy sum, Chinese broccoli, bamboo, banana, peach, and lychee, Tai Wai area once functioned as a light suburban industrial park in the 1970s. Few factory buildings are still in use, mostly as warehouses.<ref name="Industrial">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The current urbanization of the area is the consequence of the development of Sha Tin New Town that started in the 1970s.

Tai Wai Village, where the name of the area came from, was the largest and oldest walled village in Sha Tin. It was built in 1574 during the Ming dynasty,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and was called Chik Chuen Wai (Template:Zh) at the time. It was originally made up of 16 families, Wai (Template:Zh), Chan (Template:Zh), Ng (Template:Zh), Yeung (Template:Zh), Wong (Template:Zh), Lee (Template:Zh), Hui (Template:Zh), Cheng (Template:Zh), Tong (Template:Zh), Yuen (Template:Zh), Yau (Template:Zh), Lam (Template:Zh), Lok (Template:Zh), Tam (Template:Zh), Mok (Template:Zh) and Choy (Template:Zh).

The Wai family, being the largest family, is thought to be the direct descendants of the famous founder general of the Han dynasty, Han Xin, who purportedly fled there to escape executions ordered by Emperor Gao of Han's empress Empress Lü Zhi. The Han descendants changed their surname into Wai by splitting the word Han (Template:Zh) in two halves and took up the character on the right hand side, Wai (韋).

The Cheng family, on the other hand, originated from a place called Xingyang in Zhengzhou, Henan which is the place where Chang'e supposedly flew to the Moon. It is also the birthplace of Li Shangyin, one of the most famous poets in the late Tang dynasty.

Tai Wai appears on the "Map of the San-On District", published in 1866 by Simeone Volonteri.<ref name="Fragments">Template:Cite journal</ref>

The first public housing estate built in the area was Mei Lam Estate, with the first two blocks of its Phase 1 completed in 1981. Tai Wai station opened in August 1983.

Electoral constituenciesEdit

Tai Wai Template:Citation needed span in Sha Tin District, as defined at the time of the 2015 Hong Kong District Council elections.Template:Update inline They are: Chun Fung (Template:Zh, R10), Sun Tin Wai (Template:Zh, R11), Chui Tin (Template:Zh, R12), Hin Ka (Template:Zh, R13), Lower Shing Mun (Template:Zh, R14), Wan Shing (Template:Zh, R15), Keng Hau (Template:Zh, R16), Tin Sum (Template:Zh, R17), Chui Ka (Template:Zh, R18), Tai Wai (Template:Zh, R19), Chung Tin (Template:Zh, R20).<ref>Summary of 2015 District Council Election Constituency Areas - Sha Tin District</ref><ref>District Council Constituency Boundaries - Sha Tin District, 2015</ref>

DemographicsEdit

Tai Wai is composed largely of low to medium income households of different ethnic backgrounds ranging from local Chinese to Westerners. According to the 2016 Population By-census, the number of persons living in Tai Wai was as follows:<ref>2016 Population By-census. District Profiles (select Sha Tin)</ref>

Constituency Male Female Total
Chun Fung (R10) 7,131 8,135 15,266
Sun Tin Wai (R11) 7,507 8,621 16,128
Chui Tin (R12) 7,166 8,078 15,244
Hin Ka (R13) 5,736 6,458 12,194
Lower Shing Mun (R14) 8,614 9,520 18,134
Wan Shing (R15) 9,799 12,470 22,269
Keng Hau (R16) 9,548 11,397 20,945
Tin Sum (R17) 7,063 7,450 14,513
Chui Ka (R18) 7,649 8,583 16,232
Tai Wai (R19) 9,139 11,127 20,266
Chung Tin (R20) 6,649 8,115 14,764
Total 86,001 99,954 185,955

HousingEdit

File:HK Sun Chui Estate Overview1.jpg
Housing estates in Tai Wai, including King Tin Court, Sun Chui Estate and Man Lai Court. The Hong Kong Heritage Museum is visible at the bottom left.

A large part of the population of Tai Wai lives in public housing estates. Privately owned apartment blocks are also common and higher income luxury housing is also available in various parts of Tai Wai. Hundreds of three-storey village houses (some western styled, others more traditional) can be found in the villages of the area.

Public housingEdit

File:HK MeiLamEstate MeiFungHouse2.JPG
Mei Fung House of Mei Lam Estate, built in 1981.

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The table below lists all the public housing estates in Tai Wai, including Public Rental Housing (Public), Home Ownership Scheme (HOS), Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) and Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS).

Name Type Inaug. No Blocks No Units Notes
Carado Garden Template:Zh PSPS 1990 6 1,988
Chun Shek Estate Template:Zh Public 1984 4 2,166
Fung Shing Court Template:Zh HOS 1985 3 2,448
Grandway Garden Template:Zh PSPS 1989 3 864
Hin Keng Estate Template:Zh TPS 1986 8 1,004
Hin Yiu Estate Template:Zh Public 2005 1 799
Holford Garden Template:Zh PSPS 1985 3 800
Ka Keng Court Template:Zh HOS 2002 2 640
Ka Tin Court Template:Zh HOS 1988 6 1,680
King Tin Court Template:Zh HOS 1983 6 1,424
Lung Hang Estate Template:Zh Public 1983 6 4,376
May Shing Court Template:Zh HOS 1982 3 2,192
Mei Chung Court Template:Zh HOS 1996 6 1,940
Mei Lam Estate Template:Zh Public 1981 4 4,156
Mei Tin Estate Template:Zh Public 2006 4 3,164
Sun Chui Estate Template:Zh Public 1983 8 6,692
Sun Tin Wai Estate Template:Zh Public 1981 8 3,430

Private housing estatesEdit

Template:See also

Festival CityEdit

File:Festival City Overview 201106.jpg
Final stages of the construction of Festival City, in 2011.

Festival City (Template:Zh) is a HK$20 billion residential development project by Cheung Kong and MTR Corporation located above the Tai Wai (Station) Maintenance Centre. Phase I was completed in September 2010, Phase II in October 2011, and Phase III in August 2012. The plan was to build 12 50-stories high residential towers with a total construction area of 313,955 square meters as well as 25,890 square meters for the general public's use. It offers 4,264 flats to families, two schools and one community facility. This residential project raised the population of Tai Wai significantly. The controversy of this project is that the 12 towers would create an urban heat island effect and block off the air flow of the area.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Other estatesEdit

File:HK TheGreatHill 2011.JPG
Entrance of The Great Hill along Tung Lo Wan Hill Road.

Other private housing estates in Tai Wai include: Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

VillagesEdit

File:HK HinTin Yeung Law So AncestralHall.JPG
Yeung, Law, and So Ancestral Halls in Hin Tin. The towers in the background are part of Hin Keng Estate.
File:HK TinSamWai FestivalCity.JPG
Three-storey village houses of Tin Sam Village, with the towers of Festival City in the background.
File:Tin Sam2.JPG
Shrine in Tin Sam Village.

A number of villages exist in Tai Wai and most of them are surrounded by the towers of housing estates.<ref name="forest">Template:Cite journal</ref> Traditional village layout and some historic buildings can still be found.

  • Tai Wai Village, aka. Chik Chuen Wai (Template:Coord). It is located next to Tai Wai station and the main commercial streets of the area. The village was walled to protect the villagers from bandits, pirates and/or unfriendly neighbours. It was rectangular in shape with 4 watch towers at its four corners. The towers and the walls have long been demolished leaving only the entrance gate and part of the front wall. The houses inside the walls are in rows, and many houses have been built outside the walls due to later development.<ref name="SCK 4 cultural"/> Historic and traditional buildings include the Entrance Gate, a Hau Wong Temple, the Wai Ancestral Hall and several old houses.
  • Tai Wai New Village (Template:Zh) (Template:Coord) is located on a slope alongside Tai Po Road, just minutes walk away from the old village. It was established in the 1980s as the then colonial government's effort to compensate the villagers for effectively confiscating their land for development. Each male villager was given a piece of land at a premium of HK$20,000 of which he has the right to build a Spanish-styled 700 sq.ft. three-story house to live in. Most of these houses are now rented by outsiders for the relatively tranquil countryside surroundings. The land occupied by the village was once cultivated for pineapples.<ref>HK River Net: The Ebb and Flow of Agriculture</ref>

Ha Keng Hau, Sheung Keng Hau and Hin Tin are three adjacent villages located along Hin Keng Street (Template:Zh), along a northeast–southwest direction. Hin Keng Estate, located northeast of the villages and across Hin Keng Street, was named after them.

Villages in the vicinity of Che Kung Temple:

Other villages in Tai Wai include:

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Liu Ancestral Hall,<ref name="Choi Ancestral Hall"/> and the Entrance Gate, built during the Qing dynasty.<ref name="Figure 4.2.1">SCL - NEX/2206 EIA Study for Tai Wai to Hung Hom Section, Final Environmental Impact Assessment Report, Figure 4.2.1. Locations of Known Built Heritages (Sheet 1 of 8), October 2011. Shows the location of the historic buildings of Tin Sam Village.</ref><ref name="Entrance Gate"/> The Che Kung Temple in Tai Wai was originally built and managed by the Tin Sam Village, but the village lost its managerial rights in the late 19th century.<ref name="HBA Che Kung Temple">Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal: Che Kung Temple, Che Kung Miu Road, Tai Wai</ref>

RetailEdit

File:HK MTR 港鐵 大圍站 Tai Wai Station view 大圍路 Tai Wai Road February 2021 SS2.jpg
Tai Wai Road (Template:Zh) viewed from Tai Wai Station. The buildings on the left are part of Grandway Garden.

Several public housing estates have a shopping centre. The only private shopping centre was Grandeur Shopping Arcade (Template:Zh), located within Grandeur Garden, along Tai Wai Road (Template:Zh), until The Wai shopping mall opened in 2023.<ref name="TimeOut23230721">Template:Cite news</ref>

The Wai (Template:Zh) opened on 22 July 2023.<ref name="TimeOut23230721"/> Located on top of Tai Wai Station and below the Pavilia Farm residential complex, the shopping mall covers an area 650,000 sq ft across four floors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the time of its opening, The Wai housed the largest of the then 43 Market Place supermarkets in Hong Kong, covering an area over 20,000sq ft.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

RecreationalEdit

File:Hin Keng Sport Centre 2018.jpg
Hin Keng Sports Centre, at the corner of Che Kung Miu Road and Hin Keng Street.

Sports venuesEdit

Sports venues in Tai Wai include:

Sports centresEdit

There are three indoor public sport centres in Tai Wai: Che Kung Temple Sports Centre (opened in 2020), Hin Keng Sports Centre (opened in 1988) and Mei Lam Sports Centre (opened in 1986).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They are located in or next to major estates, namely Chun Shek Estate, Hin Keng Estate and Mei Lam Estate. They offer a wide range of facilities including a fitness centre with weight training and cardiovascular equipment, squash courts as well as badminton courts. These sport centres are owned and operated by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department; however, the facilities are charged prior to booking with several exceptions.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Swimming poolEdit

Hin Tin Swimming Pool (顯田游泳池) is the only public swimming pool in Tai Wai. Opened in 1992, it is operated by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. It is located along Che Kung Miu Road, between Tai Wai station and Hin Keng station.

CyclingEdit

The Tai Wai Cycling Park, where beginners could practice their cycling skills, was demolished in 2001 to make way for the railway terminus of the Ma On Shan Line. A number of bicycle rental shops can be found in Tai Wai and bicycle lanes run along the Shing Mun River and link Tai Wai to Tai Po, Ma On Shan and Plover Cove Reservoir.<ref>Ng, June, "Tai Wai On Tires", HK Magazine, July 16, 2009</ref>

HikingEdit

Hiking is also a popular activity in Tai Wai. Situated at the end of a valley, Tai Wai is surrounded by country parks: Shing Mun (north), Kam Shan (west), Lion Rock (south) and Ma On Shan (southeast). Sections of the Wilson Trail and the MacLehose Trail run across the hills near Tai Wai.

FoodEdit

Some sources mention Tai Wai as being famous for its chicken porridges and roast baby pigeon.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

SchoolsEdit

Tai Wai is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 88. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and Shatin Government Primary School (沙田官立小學).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Tai Wai has multiple primary and secondary schools, mostly public, some with religious background. They include: Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

ReligionEdit

File:HK ELCHK LivingSpiritLutheranChurch.JPG
ELCHK Living Spirit Lutheran Church

TemplesEdit

Christian institutionsEdit

Other structures and facilitiesEdit

Other historic or otherwise notable buildings and structures in Tai Wai include:

TransportEdit

File:East portal of Sha Tin Heights Tunnel (20190309075306).jpg
Northern portal of Sha Tin Heights Tunnel, in Tai Wai.

MTREdit

Tai Wai station is on the East Rail line and the Tuen Ma line of the MTR. The northward termini of the East Rail line, Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau stations, located at the border with Shenzhen, are about 30 minutes away.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The station was opened in 1983 and its expansion for the Ma On Shan line was completed in September 2004.

Che Kung Temple station of the Tuen Ma line is also located in the Tai Wai area. It opened in 2004.

In 2002, KCRC won the bid to plan, build and operate the Sha Tin to Central Link,<ref name="scl">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and in 2004 it submitted the Draft Final Proposal to the Government. The March 2008 MTR-KCR revised proposal includes the extension of East Rail line across Victoria Harbour to Hong Kong Island and the extension of Ma On Shan line to West Rail line via East Kowloon. The Tai Wai to Hung Hom section was fully completed in 2021 and the Cross Harbour section was completed in 2022.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As part of this project, a new station was built in the Tai Wai area, Hin Keng station, which opened in February 2020.

Road connectionsEdit

Tai Wai is the main gateway of tunnels and roads connecting the New Territories to Kowloon as well as Tsuen Wan due to its convenient location. In the early 20th century and until the Lion Rock Tunnel, the first road tunnel in Hong Kong, was built in 1967, Tai Po Road was the main road connecting Tai Wai and the New Territories to Kowloon.<ref>Cheng Siu Kei, "Making of a New Town: Urbanisation in Tai Po", Tai Po Book p. 271</ref> Tai Po Road to this day remains as the only toll-free road connecting the two areas.

The tunnels are: Lion Rock Tunnel (1967), Shing Mun Tunnels (1990) and Sha Tin Heights Tunnel (2008). Sha Tin Heights Tunnel opened in March 2008 to lessen the traffic of the Kowloon Tunnels and Tai Po Road. It is part of Route 8 that connects Tai Wai to the airport over the Stonecutters Bridge and through the Nam Wan Tunnel.

BusEdit

A large percentage of the bus routes that go past Tai Wai are circular routes which both start and terminate in Sha Tin. There are also long-distance routes that go past famous Hong Kong landmarks and attractions. They include 170, which goes to Ocean Park; E42 goes to the airport (via Tung Chung)<ref name="longwinbus">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and R42 to Disneyland.

There are 5 major bus termini in Tai Wai:

MinibusEdit

Many green minibus (GMB) routes that pass Tai Wai go around all parts of Sha Tin to provide feeder services for major public transport operators such as the MTR. Routes such as 481B go to the Tsuen Wan area via Shing Mun Tunnel offering a fast but cheap alternative to buses and the MTR. Residents' buses also operate at Tai Wai station. Union Hospital's free shuttle bus also operates from there at 10-minute frequencies.

See alsoEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

Further readingEdit

External linksEdit

Template:Sister project Template:GeoGroup

Template:Sha Tin District Template:Hong Kong Urban Areas