The Pineapple Dam Nature Trail
We are expecting an epidemic in Hong Kong. As the city is half-paralyzed due to a government shutdown, and the malls are no longer safe to visit, what is there to do but to visit the countryside?
On this chilly winter morning, my friends and I went for an easy hike at the Pineapple Dam, Tsuen Wan.
The Pineapple Dam Nature Trail, reaching the Lead Mine Pass, is Section 7 of the Wilson Trail. It starts at the Pineapple Dam, and the trail gradually inclines up the Tai Mo Shan area.
Hikers pass by a number of beautiful scenic spots, including the Shing Mun Reservoir, a butterfly garden, an arboretum, a pebbled stream, a paper bark path, and finally ending at the Lead Mine Pass.
A walk to and from the same path takes some three to four hours, but the incline is gradual. There are also many cattle on the way, sun-bathing in leisure. Finally, what is the nature of Hong Kong without its monkeys? We met troops of macaque monkeys[i] on our way back. They seemed to only come out when the afternoon blessed the area with generous sunshine. Do not feed them, however, instead walk calmly past them. They will not attack unprovoked. My friend, who hikes often, said that the experienced hikers would wear their backpack in the front as a gesture against potential aggression by the monkeys.
The Shing Mun Reservoir was built in 1938, intended to serve the increasing needs for water from the urbanization of Kowloon. It belonged to a group of pre-WWII era reservoirs in Hong Kong.[ii] It was also the first reservoir built in the New Territories to serve the water needs of Kowloon residents. According to the Wikipedia, the area used to have a fortress dated to the Ming Dynasty, and thus the name Shing Mun, meaning fortress.[iii]
On the other hand, the Pineapple Dam was named as such because the eight original villages that settled in this area planted an abundance of pineapple trees. Due to the construction of the reservoir, these eight villages have since relocated.
It was a wonderful half-day at the trail and we returned to civilization having breathed fresh air. All very good for our lungs.
[i] The Wikipedia on Shing Mun Reservoir.
[ii] Id.
[iii] Id.