The Siu Lo of Yuen Long
Update as of August 2023: The area of the heritage site has been blocked off from visits. It is likely due to the revitalization and construction work that was approved. The old trees with their aerial roots that hovered over the building have been removed. It looks like one would have to wait a bit before it is open again and dressed in new clothes.
As soon as I saw its photographs online, Siu Lo captured my imagination. I decided to pay a visit.
The Story of Siu Lo
Siu Lo is an abandoned old house on Tai Tong Road, Yuen Long. The original owner of the building was named Chan Mo Ching (transliteration), a merchant that operated a business in Indonesia. Chan Mo Ching returned to his hometown in China during WWII. Thereafter, his relatives lived in Siu Lo.
There are rumours that the house has once been the assembly point for the self-defence forces of the Hong Kong Independent Battalion of the Dongjiang Column. This particular fighting force was a locally-organised guerilla force throughout the war and the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong.
Siu Lo’s owner Chan Mo Ching did return to the house after WWII. He and his family then lived there until the late 1970s. Despite a chapter full of intrigue in its history, Siu Lo has been vacant, and thus left in ruins, since the family left. Chan’s descendants held onto its ownership until 2016, when Tang Shing Bor’s family enterprise bought the land forHK$63 million. Tang Shing Bor died in 2021. Thereafter his son sold this land to Kato (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited for HK$65 million.
The Town Planning Board opined in an application for development of Siu Lo (more below) that “Siu Lo itself is not related to a very prominent figure in Hong Kong, yet its history is subtle to lie with the development and lives in villages in Yuen Long.” It is a Grade 3 Historic Building.
Online sources suggest that this house is haunted. Not only that, it tops the list for the most haunted in Hong Kong as well. Neighbours have heard sounds of playing mahjong there even after the abandonment.
The Structure
Built in the 1940s, the old house shows mixed eastern and western features. According to Hong-Kong-Heritage.com, the name plaque atop the entrance gateway, the verandah, and the balcony on second floor are common and traditional features for structures in southern China. The two stone pillars on the side of the gateway, with corresponding pillars on the second floor balcony, however, are a touch of western architecture.
The building has remained this way, authentically and in ruins, since the late 1970s. The typical signs of abandonment show amply on the structure. A tree (or maybe more than one) has grown its roots over the broken windows. Nature has extended its merciless hand over it. It is eerie indeed, and perhaps that is also the reason why haunted stories about Siu Lo circulated.
Current Developments
When I arrived at the site, I was a little taken aback because the area is now a public parking lot. I did have to pay a parking fee for my car to park there, just to take photos of the building. The minimum spending is two hours, but I negotiated with the kind man there to pay only one hour for $14.
Like the Pun Uk (Yam Wah Lo) near Pok Oi Hospital, the former owner of Siu Lo had plans to revitalize Siu Lo. I located online an application for use/development for the whole lot of Siu Lo, including the area that is now a parking lot. The application suggests erecting a five-storey building, plus a one-level basement, to serve as an elderly care home on site.
For Siu Lo itself, on the other hand, the plan is to conserve it fully. Restoration will proceed with both the two-storey main structure, and the one-storey annex. When restoration completes, visitors can visit the site in its renewed glory.
I must say, however, that the current Siu Lo in ruins has a beauty of its own.
This said application has been approved by the Town Planning Board already. Finally, in May 2021, Tang Shing Bor’s family enterprise sold Siu Lo to Kato (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited. The Notice of Discloseable Transaction seems to suggest that the already-approved plan for development of an elderly care home will go forward, as well as the conservation of Siu Lo.
How to Get There
Siu Lo is located next to the Caltex on Tai Tong Road, Yuen Long. By public transport, perhaps you can take the light rail and get off at the Tai Tong Road Station, then walk about 10 minutes.
If you are not able to search its English name on Google Map, you will find it if you point your location marker to the Caltex on Tai Tong Road.
Sources
Hong-Kong-Heritage.com on Siu Lo (Chin).
Weekendhk.com, Neighbors with the Ghosts: Building An Elderly Home Next to Yuen Long’s Siu Lo, January 24, 2022.
Town Planning Board, Broad Development Parameters of the Applied Use / Development in respect of Application No. A/YL/256.
Kato (Hong Kong) Holdings Limited (Stock Code: 2189), Discloseable Transaction Acquisition of Lands, 21 May 2021.
Hong Kong Museum of History, Newsletter, October to December 2013.
