# Ghost village of Luk Keng Chan Uk , Hong Kong, August 2015



## HughieD (Sep 8, 2015)

Here's report No. 2 from the Plover Cove area. This time it’s the village of *Luk Keng Chan Uk *itself. This is a sizeable village in the north-east of the New Territories. It's popular for both sightseeing and hiking perspective. The village was inhabited predominantly by the Chan Clan who speak the Hakka dialect and the village was used for both livestock farming and growing crops. Wiki makes reference to half of the village's houses being deserted but now there is much fewer people still living there (I probably spotted 2 or 3 houses that appeared to be inhabited). Despite few residents remaining, occasionally, at Chinese New Year, old villagers and their descendants return to pray for their ancestors at the local temple.

The Chan clan's ancestors originally came to Luk Keng from the Ta Kwu Leng area in the 1700s, along with other descendants traveling to Tsuen Wan. They constructed a water barrier which now carries the main road. However, according to wiki in the 1960s and 1970s many villagers left for the UK and other parts of the world, although this is slightly at odds with the fact that many of the houses were actually built in the 1960s - see pictures below). This was due, in the main, to UK immigration policy at the time and the fact that little work was available to the villagers who consequently looked to earn money further afield. 

Hence little development has taken place in the village, and this has been further curtailed by the government designating the area as a "Zone of Special Scientific Interest". This has restricted development to small houses, despite most of the area being private land. The village does see a number of hikers passing through as the beautiful Bride’s Pool waterfalls are nearby.

Really enjoyed this explore and, to be honest, could have done with more time as there really is a lot to see. There are a lot of abandoned houses but the majority are locked-up so less internals to be had here. OK…on with the pictures!

Again a lot of the houses date back to the 1960s:


img0836 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Like this example from 1968:


img0837 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Although some are considerably older:


img0835 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img0850 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Most are locked up tight:


img0838 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img0876 by HughieDW, on Flickr

With only a peek through the window available:


img0839 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Although this place wasn't locked up - I couldn't tell whether it was abandoned or still inhabited:


img0840 by HughieDW, on Flickr

The pond is still in good order:


img0841 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Some houses are more far gone than others...


img0842 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img0844 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img0845 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img0909 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Ah, where would we be without incense burners!


img0843 by 
HughieDW, on Flickr

...and a bit of spirit(s) too:


img0873 by HughieDW, on Flickr


img0874 by HughieDW, on Flickr

These houses from 1962 are substantial properties and are in reasonable nick:


img0846 by HughieDW, on Flickr

...round the corner these older places are on the way down:


img0847 by HughieDW, on Flickr

This would have been somebody's kitchen:


img0848 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Nature is creeping back:


img0869 by HughieDW, on Flickr

..both on the old:


img0870 by HughieDW, on Flickr

...and the new:


img0871 by HughieDW, on Flickr

Thanks for looking!


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## UrbanX (Sep 8, 2015)

Excellent stuff! I love seeing how the vibrant colours fade! (First few pics compared to the signs on the door of the last shot!) 
Keep 'em coming!


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## Rubex (Sep 8, 2015)

Lovely pictures HughieD! I really love the pond and the incense burners


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## Sam Haltin (Sep 9, 2015)

Nice job here Hugh. Ah, the incense burners and incense sticks. I wonder what they smell like because I got incense sticks from a Chinese emporium here and they smell like cinnamon.


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## flyboys90 (Sep 9, 2015)

Wow what an amazing site,Great write up and photos.


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