Old market finds

Yuen Kwan Yi Tai Temple is a Grade 1 historical building dating back to 1714 and the neighborhood's ancestral hall. [Rebecca Lo/China Daily]

Despite its moniker as a new town, Yuen Long boasts some of Hong Kong's oldest buildings. Rebecca Lo strolls down memory lane.

Dwarfed by such high-rises as Yoho Midtown and Sun Yuen Long Centre, Yuen Long Old Market is a mere blip in the sprawl of the rapidly developing New Territories town. Yet it is along this neighborhood of gray brick two- and three-story buildings that Hong Kong's past glory can be gleaned.

The best examples of 18th- and 19-th century and Chinese architecture can be found along Cheung Shing Street, an artery that separated Nam Pin Wai and Sai Pin Wai. Both of the two villages were established by the Tang clan, indigenous residents of nearby Kam Tin who eventually spread their territory into Yuen Long.

Our tour of the area was led by Paul Chan, one of the founders of Walk in historic and cultural walking tours. Chan admits that he finds the neighborhood fascinating because it contains some of Hong Kong's oldest buildings, including the oldest pawn shop in Yuen Long and the oldest hotel in the city.

"Yuen Long Old Market was originally near the sea—well, it was more like a swamp," Chan says. "The area was mostly inhabited by the Tangs. Here, you can find Hong Kong's highest concentration of historical buildings."

Chinese villages radiate outward from two components of daily life: the temple and the market. In this sense, they are not much different than villages found all over the world. The temporary market, now long gone, was first set up in 1770 and every third day was a designated market day drawing shoppers as far as from villages along the coast of Guangdong province.