Kau Sai Chau
滘西洲
Kau Sai Chau and its golf course. Yim Tin Tsai and the breakwater are visible at the bottom right. The island at the centre right is Sharp Island.
Location of Kau Sai Chau within Hong Kong
Geography
LocationSai Kung
Area6.70 km2 (2.59 sq mi)
Highest elevation216 m (709 ft)
Administration
Chinese name
Chinese滘西洲
JyutpingGaau3 sai1 zau1
Cantonese YaleGaau sāi jāu
Hanyu PinyinJiàoxīzhōu
Rock Carving at Kau Sai Chau.
Hung Shing Temple at Kau Sai Chau.
Kau Sai Chau Golf Club South Course Hole Number 12.

Kau Sai Chau is an island located off the coast of Sai Kung Peninsula, Hong Kong, with an area of 6.70km²,[1] making it the 6th largest island of Hong Kong. It is under the administration of Sai Kung District.

The island was formerly known as Keui Island. [2] 'Kau Sai Chau', the transliteration of the Chinese name through the Hong Kong Government Cantonese Romanisation system, was later adopted as its English name.

Geography

Kau Sai Chau is located south of the Sai Kung Peninsula. Its northern shore forms part of the southern limit of Port Shelter Sheltered Water, of which it is the largest island.[3] Kau Sai Chau is connected in the north by a breakwater to the smaller island Yim Tin Tsai. The southern tip of the island is separated by a narrow channel from Jin Island. It has a maximum elevation of 216 m.[4]

Kau Sai Fishermen Village is a small fishing hamlet with about ten houses. It is located at the southern tip of the island.[5]

History

At the time of the 1911 census, the population of Kau Sai Chau was 39. The number of males was 29.[6]

In 1952, Hakka farmers and shopkeepers of Kau Sai Chau were required to relocate, because the place was located in the centre of a large area of sea about to be designated as a military firing range. The villagers were resited to Kau Sai San Tsuen, off Hiram's Highway at Pak Sha Wan.[7][8]

Culture

Two declared monuments of Hong Kong are located on Kau Sai Chau: a prehistoric rock carving and a Hung Shing Temple.

The prehistoric rock carving was discovered in 1976. It is located on the north-western coast of the island, in a location "where accessibility by land is extremely poor".[9]

The Hung Shing Temple is located in the southern part of the island, near Kau Sai Fishermen Village, of which it is the only temple.[5] The building was built before 1889.[10] It is constructed in grey bricks with a timber roof frame. The temple has been renovated four times, in 1949, in the 1970s, in 1988 and the last being from August 1999 to February 2000.[3] The restoration was declared an "Outstanding Project" by the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage 2000 Awards.[11] Previously a Grade III Historic Building, the temple was declared a monument on 15 November 2002.

The Hung Shing Festival (洪聖誕) is celebrated there every year on the 12th and the 13th days of the second lunar month in Chinese calendar.[12] An opera troupe is hired to perform Cantonese operas to thank the deities. The Jiao Festival is conducted on the day before the festival.[13][14]

Leisure Amenities

The Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course, developed and run by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, is the only public golf course in Hong Kong. Opened in 1995, it occupies approximately the northern half of the island. It comprises three 18-hole golf courses: the North and South Courses were designed by Gary Player, while Nelson & Haworth designed the East Course.[15]

There are wild boars wandering the island. They come out typically at night and may cause serious damage to the golf course.[16]

Transportation

A scheduled ferry service connects Sai Kung Town and the ferry pier of the Public Golf Course.[17] The Hong Kong Jockey Club runs three Solar Sailor ferries to the island per hour.[18]

Other parts of the island may be reached by privately owned boats from Sai Kung Pier.[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lands Department (February 2011), Hong Kong Geographic Data (PDF), retrieved 28 August 2011
  2. ↑ 黃垤華 (November 1997). 學圃談舊錄 憶健社之創始. 團體會員聯合旅訊 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 香港郊野活動聯會 [The Hong Kong Federation of Countryside Activities]. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  3. 1 2 Weatherman Extraordinaire - Hung Shing Temple, Kau Sai Chau (archive)
  4. ↑ Hu, Puwei; Xing, Fuwu; Chen, Lin; Wang, Meina; Wang, Faguo; Chen, Hongfeng (2011). "Vegetation and vascular plant diversity of islands surrounding Port Shelter, Hong Kong, China". Biodiversity Science. Vol. V19 (05). pp. 605–609. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Heritage Hong Kong, August 2005" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2009.
  6. ↑ Hase, Patrick (1996). "Traditional Life in the New Territories: The Evidence of the 1911 and 1921 Censuses" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch. 36: 82. ISSN 1991-7295.
  7. ↑ Hayes, James (2006). The great difference: Hong Kong's New Territories and its people, 1898-2004. Hong Kong University Press. p. 89. ISBN 9789622097940.
  8. ↑ Secretary for Home Affairs (8 November 2002). "Bills Committee on Village Representative Election Bill" (PDF). Legislative Council of Hong Kong. p. 25.
  9. 1 2 Antiquities and Monuments Office: Rock carving on Kau Sai Chau Archived 2009-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Antiquities and Monuments Office: Hung Shing Temple on Kau Sai Chau Archived 2008-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ "UNESCO Asia Pacific Heritage 2000 Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation: Hung Shing Old Temple". Archived from the original on 10 May 2007. Retrieved 29 June 2009.
  12. ↑ Birthday of Hung Shing Kung in Kau Sai Archived 2011-10-05 at the Wayback Machine (with video)
  13. ↑ "Promulgation of the First Intangible Cultural Heritage Inventory of Hong Kong" (PDF). Legislative Council of Hong Kong. 13 June 2014.
  14. ↑ Choi, C.C. (1990). "Studies on Hong Kong Jiao Festivals" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch. 30: 26–43. ISSN 1991-7295.
  15. ↑ Kau Sai Chau - The Jockey Club Public Golf Course Archived 2009-06-10 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ Parry, Hazel (28 September 2014). "Anger as hunters sent to cull wild boar damaging Sai Kung golf courses". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  17. ↑ Going to KSC
  18. ↑ Hong Kong Jockey Club Island Transport

Further reading

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