Lai Chi Wo
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In the Northeast New Territories, along the coast of Sha Tau Kok, lie the Hakka walled villages of Lai Chi Wo and Mui Tsz Lam, built against the sea and surrounded by mountains. With a history spanning over 300 years, the villagers began to move away en masse starting in the 1960s.
Since 2013, Lai Chi Wo village has been the center of a series of revitalization and renewal projects, including the Hakka Life Experience Village Houses by the Hong Kong Countryside Foundation. Lai Chi Wo is a classic Hakka settlement, with over 200 houses and three ancestral halls still preserved in a distinct layout of three main axes and nine parallel rows.
The nearby Mui Tsz Lam has also recently become a focus of rural revitalization and was one of the filming locations for the movie ‘'“Far Far Away’'”. The village landmarks include a playground's monkey bars and a cattle shed. A construction team from the Chinese University of Hong Kong is conducting an architectural restoration experiment here, using modern rammed earth technology to repair old houses and rebuilding walls and roofs with lightweight construction materials.
Photos courtesy of Zero Lai
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LOCATION
Lai Chi Wo Village, Sha Tau Kok, North District, Hong Kong
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GUIDED TOURS
Session 1
Date: 22 Nov 2025 (Sat)
Time: 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Led by: Professor Wong Kam Sing, GBS, JP (Chairman, Wu Zhi Qiao Charitable Foundation｜Architect｜Former Secretary for the Environment, HKSAR), Zero Lai & Felix Ng (Member, Wu Zhi Qiao Youth Committee)
Session 2
Date: 23 Nov 2025 (Sun)
Time: 10:30 AM to 4:30 PM
Led by: Zero Lai & Felix Ng (Member, Wu Zhi Qiao Youth Committee), Sam (Project Architect, MTL Commons)
Gathering Point: Sha Tau Kok Public Pier
Language: Cantonese
SPECIAL NOTES
- Participants are responsible for their own transportation between Sha Tau Kok and Lai Chi Wo, as well as arranging their own lunch in the village.
- Please note that access to the Sha Tau Kok area requires a Closed Area Permit, which must be applied for online at least three days in advance.
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REMARKS
- Participants who join this tour will be deemed to have read and understood the Notes to Participant and Adverse Weather Arrangements.
