Vignettes of the World
The Ngau Wu Reservoir The Ngau Wu Reservoir is an unusual reservoir in Hong Kong. It is not a government-run reservoir. Built at mid-stream of the Ngau Wu Stream, it wells fresh water flowing from Ngau Ngak Shan (the Hunch Backs). The reservoir served the …
The Sai Wan Swimming Shed has become a much sought-after spot for photo-taking in recent years. As it faces the northwestern end of Hong Kong Island, the location is perfect for sunset photos. Many couples find it a beautiful spot for dating. I was curious …
There is a reason why I ran into three couples taking their wedding pictures on my visit to the Chung Hom Kok Battery. It is very much like Greece.
The half-dome structure is beautiful, as it is set against a clear blue sky by the seaside. Yet official history has it that the Chung Hom Kok Battery had never seen a day of battle.
During the 1930s, Britain’s Defence Committee determined that the Hong Kong Island would serve as the main venue of defence of Hong Kong. When this determination was made, the British built a series of defence structures in Hong Kong Island, particularly on the coastal areas. The Chung Hom Kok Battery was one of such structures.
Originally, there were two cannons at Chung Hom Kok. They were located one above the other. As there was a concern that the upper cannon might damage the lower one during firing, the British added a half-dome cement structure to the lower cannon platform. This structure is what the pictures show. The No. 2 cannon platform remains intact with its signature half-dome coverage. Cannon No. 1, however, was demolished after the Pacific War.
On the other hand, both cannons came with two searchlight platforms on a lower location. I was only able to find one on site.
As the Japanese military advanced in Hong Kong, the Royal Regiment of Artillery’s 8th Battalion was guarding the Chung Hom Kok Battery. On December 18th, the Japanese troops landed in Hong Kong and rapidly proceeded with their offensive. On the 19th they have arrived at the Wong Nai Chung and Tai Tam Reservoir areas.
The Eastern Fire Command of the British Force ordered the destruction of the three cannons under its command, including the Cape Collison Battery, the Bokhara battery at Cape D’Aguilar and the Chung Hom Kok Battery, in order to prevent critical defence facilities falling into the control of Japanese hands. The artillery did so as instructed, and then retreated to Stanley, which would become the “last man standing” when Hong Kong Governor Sir Mark Aitchison Young surrendered to the Japanese.
As mentioned above, the original half-dome bunker that covers Cannon No. 2 remains intact today. There is no longer any sign of the cannon platform now, as the Hong Kong Government has built a sort of “park” over it. Because of the bunker’s cream color, and its location on the seaside, it is a very popular location for wedding picture taking. On a sunny day, the view there almost could have been Greece.
I was able to find one searchlight platform on the stairs down by the seaside. It was an interesting view to look out the sea from within the platform.
These were the seaside views as I walked along Chung Hom Kok Road. It was a very beautiful location. Perhaps next time I will go to the Chung Hom Kok beach for a lazy afternoon.
On the other hand, there were also military installations, such as bunkers, on the way to the Battery proper.
I took Minibus 16M from the Chai Wan MTR Station. It dropped me off at the Chung Hom Kok Beach, where there is a roundabout. I then walked on Chung Hom Kok Road for 20 minutes to its very end. The former battery is right there.
Bus Routes 6, 6X, 65 and 66 also drop you off at the roundabout.
The road is 90% on level ground, and the last section to the seaside is a five-minute walk downward. On your way back you would have to climb a little. By car, just drive on Chom Hom Kok Road to the very end and there are unmarked parking spaces.
A gentle reminder that the Chom Hom Road, although with some shades, is very, very hot on a sunny day. Sure, it was not in any sense a hike, but prepare lots of water. A 20-minute walk under the sun when it is 33 degrees can be health-threatening if not with enough water and a hiking hat.
All historical descriptions in this entry came from Ko Tim Keung, The Guide to Hong Kong’s War Zones at 83-86.
This entry is part of the series on Hong Kong’s World War II history. Please visit the following links for:
Japanese Fortifications in Luk Keng
Murmurs of the Hollow at Mount Davis
Hike of the Year: From Nam Fung Sun Tsuen to Jardine’s Lookout and Back
War Relics at the Devil’s Peak
Yuen Long today is a thriving town in northwestern New Territories, mostly known for its great food. It is also an area heavily populated with indigenous villages. As such, Yuen Long had a long history of development in Hong Kong, going way back to the …
The original plan of the day was to hike the general areas of Hong Kong east, namely, Mount Butler, Mount Parker or the Quarry Pass area. We began at Nam Fung Sun Tsuen but that was the last thing we knew. Some wrong ways here …
The British built the Sai Wan Battery early during the colonial times. Originally, they built only the redoubt up on the hilltop in 1895. Three years later, the British military added two 6-inch gun platform as well, and construction completed in 1903. In 1906, however, a British Military Commission visited Hong Kong and determined that the gun platforms of San Wan Shan Battery was a surplus. The guns were removed, and this battery was vacated.
During the 1920s, the British decided to turn the San Wan Battery into an air defence base. Since then, two 3-inch anti-aircraft guns have stationed in this battery. They have played a significant role during the Pacific War.
The Sai Wan Battery and the Lei Yue Mun Battery were the first line of defense in Hong Kong Island that fell into Japanese hands. On December 18, 1941, the Japanese Imperial Army landed the Hong Kong Island, and immediately Sai Wan Shan (Sai Wan Hill) became the first target of the Japanese offensive.
Under the command of Colonel Tanaka Ryosaburo, the 6th Company of the 2nd Battalion of the Japanese forces reached both the Lei Yue Mun Barracks and Sai Wan Battery. They arrived at a mere half-hour after landing Hong Kong Island. At the time, the 5th Battery of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps was guarding San Wan Battery. The soldiers had not known that the Japanese had landed Hong Kong Island already. But they did resist the Japanese attacks to the best they could.
Of this attack, six gunners were killed, 20 taken prisoners and 30 escaped. Those who were taken into captivity were mass-murdered. Although most of them died from the stabbing, two Chinese soldiers survived. They would serve as witness in the war crime trials after the War.
By the time that it fell, the Sai Wan Battery had already served its role in history. For it did shoot down Japanese war planes.
I was having lunch with a friend in Sai Wan Ho and I decided to walk to Sai Wan Shan for 45 minutes. The day was bright and hot, indeed, but there is no walk that cannot be done with a good hiking hat. I probably took more than an hour, including the time I spent finding my way from Sai Wan Ho.
I made it up on Chai Wan Road. On my way, I noticed the Salesian Mission. During those early days of the resistance against the Japanese, there was a first-aid post here. The Japanese military murdered the prisoners of war and the paramedics here after they surrendered. Yet, miraculously, four survived in this incident as well. They eventually served as witness in the trial of Colonel Tanaka Ryosaburo, who was given a sentence of 20 years imprisonment for war crimes.
At the very small Chai Wan Children’s Playground, I made a left and came upon the entrance to the trail to the Sai Wan Battery. Go up the stairs right next to the Water Supplies Department Chai Wan North No. 2 Pumping Station. The hike up would take 20-30 minutes, until you reach the Lei Yue Mun Park / Sai Wan Battery (see pictures below).
Along the path up the main barracks, you will come across some bunkers.
Perhaps the most interesting view up on the hill is the panorama of Lei Yue Mun Pass and the Devil’s Peak (where the Gough Battery, Pottinger Battery and the Devil’s Peak Redoubt are located) across the Victoria Harbour. Although the area is very much covered by ample foliage now, the views were wide open during WWII. The hills of eastern Kowloon would have come into plain sight in those times.
Another interesting landmark is the signpost pointing to the directions of many different important cities of the World. The signs also note the distance to these places. The cities featured are Rome, Amsterdam, Taipei, Paris, London, Canberra, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Singapore and more.
I believe these were barracks.
These are the two original gun platforms.
Two more gun platforms were added after the war began. One no longer remains, as a pavilion stands in its stead now. The other is intact further down the road.
This was the very first redoubt that the British military built during the late 19th century.
By public transport, bus routes 118, 106, 8, 9, 14, 682 and many others will drop you off at the A Kung Ngam Road bus stop on Chai Wan Road. Go uphill on Chai Wan Road from the A Kung Ngam Road bus stop and watch out for the big sign pointing to the Lei Yue Mun Park.
You will see the Water Supplies Department structure across that road. The entrance to the trail is on the left of the Pumping Station.
Exhibits of the Sai Wan Battery on site.
A Guide to Hong Kong’s War Zones, Ko Tim Keung, at 59-64.
Japanese Fortifications in Luk Keng
Murmurs of the Hollow at Mount Davis
Hike of the Year: From Nam Fung Sun Tsuen to Jardine’s Lookout and Back
War Relics at the Devil’s Peak
Like Greece – The Chung Hom Kok Battery
The Southern District Coastal Trail (The Waterfall Bay and Sandy Bay Road)
It could not have been a better weather for a ride on the sea. I was joining a friend for lunch at Sai Wan Ho. We planned on meeting at Soho East, the well-known restaurant strip right next to the Sai Wan Ho Pier. It …
Originally we were going to hike the Lung Mun Country Trail from Chuen Lung Village to the Shing Mun Reservoir. However, after a mad good time at dim sum at the village, we were left with little time for the intended trail. Therefore we changed …
You can’t miss it, spring is here in Hong Kong. It is time to see flowers. The local press has been reporting on the Shun Sum Yuen Farm in San Tin, Yuen Long. My friend and I took a trip out there this past Sunday.
The farm is quite big at 35,000 square feet. The owner Leung Yat-shun imported 100,000 sunflower seeds from the Netherlands to grow in his fields. Amongst these seeds are the common sunflower yellow kind. There are also red sunflowers and sunflowers in Champaign color.
We entered the farm and came across some smaller fields first. There were two fields of pink and red gladiolus. These are the very last batch remaining. As we know, gladiolus are for the winter, and so they will not stay very long in the field. They are beautiful though.
Photo: The Gladiodus also came from the Netherlands
In the middle of the farm there is a resting area. Staff serve soft drinks there and customers can also purchase souvenirs. Since my father made a request, I spent $50 on five packs of sunflower seeds, each pack comes with three seeds.
Photo above: A Mango Tree with Low Hanging Fruits at Shun Sum Yuen Farm.
As we walked toward the main sunflower fields, we passed by a small but very interesting lotus pond. We learned that the regular blooming season for lotus and water lilies would come in the next month or so. Yet there were some really beautiful water lilies there, fully bloomed.
We could not wait further and hurried to the sunflower fields. There were many people indeed. As such it was quite difficult to avoid the crowds showing in our photographs. It was in this large field that a staff told us about the only (yes, the one and only) red sunflower in the farm. She told us that one special quality of the red sunflower is that it does not follow the sun. Therefore it was facing one way, when all the surrounding sunflowers faced the other way. It also comes with many smaller buds that do not bloom. It is not so easy to successfully grow red sunflowers.
Photos: Red Sunflowers are rare. They also do not follow the sun, unlike the other sunflowers.
To be honest, the yellow sunflower fields were slightly disappointing to us. The flowers tended to be short. It was not like we could walk amidst a sunflower “grove” like we usually see in other fields or movies. Yet we knew that this is the best we can have in Hong Kong.
The Champaign-colored sunflowers were good, however. They were tall and blooming, and indeed with petals of a much gentler hue than the sunflower yellow. I am not too good with floral photography, but again I tried my best here.
What really impressed us was the staff at the sunflower farm. We would be just doing our little small talks and asking each other questions, and they would hear us and give us the answers right away. We talked to a few women there. Some of them explained to us why they were yelling at the visitors, warning them not to touch the flowers or wear their backpacks within the field. They said some of these sunflowers just bloomed on that day and because people were not careful, they wilt by the end of the day.
From another we learned that the flowers are the hard work of mid-aged farm women. They love this farm, and besides flowers, they also plant edible crops such as corn and pumpkin. In the winter, they showcase lilies.
When the farm first opened, the owner did not charge any fees. They did not know if their initiative would be popular. Now that the word has spread, there is good business at the farm. However, the villagers do not really like the fact that the farm draws thousands of people to the village. Therefore please do be considerate and do not cause annoyance at the village.
One of the women told us how to plant the sunflowers. It is a good time from now till September to sow the seeds. After September, the sunflowers would not grow well. In the first week of planting, the seeds need watering daily. Then let it grow with lots of sunshine.
Finally, she also told us about the name of the farm. I asked because “Shun Sum” in Cantonese also means faith. Could the owner have been Christian? She said no, “Shun” is the name of the owner Leung Yat-shun. He chose “sum” as the second word meaning that every species of flower comes with a pistil (“sum” in Chinese).
There is a $50 per head entrance fee to visit the farm.
We went by private car, but I do not recommend driving there. There is no legal parking spot in the village. Although we parked there for about an hour without incident, it was not a good idea because we learned that the villagers did not appreciate this farm.
A sign on site said that the closest parking space available is close to the San Tin Post Office.
By public transport: Take Bus 76K and get off at the Shek Wu Wai bus stop.
The Sunflower Festival of San Tin, Yuen Long, April 19, 2021, Apple Daily.
Sundaykiss.com, Sunflowers Bloom at Shun Sum Yuen of Yuen Long, April 22, 2021.
The Lung Ha Wan (also known as Lobster Bay) Country Trail shows exceptional aerial views of the outlaying islands and Kowloon’s eastern coastline at Clear Water Bay. I was hiking this day with a group. Someone would be leading and I could enjoy the views …