Sha Lo Wan is a bay in the northwest Lantau Island, Hong Kong. The bay faces north to Hong Kong International Airport. The area is occupied by indigenous inhabitants. There is no vehicular access to the area and thus their communication is on foot or by ferry. Because of their inconvenient access to urban areas, villages in the area have suffered from depopulation. Only older generations live in these villages. Villages in the area include Sha Lo Wan Tsuen, Sha Lo Wan San Tsuen and Sha Lo Wan Chung Hau.
History
Sha Lo Wan was noted for its incense production during the Ming dynasty. Following the orders imposed by the Great Clearance, the village was evacuated, together with the whole of Lantau Island. People were allowed to return to settle on the island in 1669, but Sha Lo Wan was not resettled at that time. Sha Lo Wan Tsuen was probably erected in the 18th century, as a Ba Kong Temple dedicated to Hung Shing was built by the villagers in 1774 at the northwest of the village, close to the seashore. Villagers were engaged in fishing and farming. The population was small reaching up to a few hundreds before the Second World War. Being close to the sea, the village was often attacked by pirates and bandits. In the late 1930s, it was occupied by a group of pirates for one year. Tungsten was discovered in Sha Lo Wan, and its ore was quarried in the area in the 1950s, leading to a population increase, which reached 4,000 in 1971. The population has dropped again since the 1970s.
Features
The bay is a preserved tropicalnatural environment. Thick and high trunks of trees can be found in the area. Sha Lo Wan Tsuen was constructed in the form of four parallel rows of houses. A 3m high village entrance gate, built about 200 years ago of granite blocks and slabs, remains in the north of the village, while the attached defensive wall has been demolished. There are three ancestral halls in the village. Two adjacent temples are located at Sha Lo Wan, near the coast. The Ba Kong Temple, dedicated to Hung Shing, was built in 1774. To its right is a Tin Hau Temple, built in 1919. A wall is connecting the two temples at the front façade. They are sometimes collectively referred to as "Pa Kong Ancient Temple and Tin Hau Palace". Besides the small Sha Lo Wan Playground, the village only other attraction is Tung Chung Sha Lo Wan Beach.
Events
The Sha Lo Wan Village Office and the Hung Shing Festival Committee of Lantau Island hold an annual Hung Shing Festival in Sha Lo Wan from the 10th to the 13th day of the seventh lunar month. Celebrations include worship of deities and Cantonese opera performances.
Access
By foot
Sha Lo Wan is situated on the trail from Tai O to Tung Chung, known as the Tung O Ancient Trail that heads east along Tung Chung Bay.
Other
There is no vehicular access to the area, but the construction of a road linking Tai O and Tung Chung, and serving Sha Lo Wan, has been proposed in 2014. The area is served by ferries operated byFortune Ferry to Tung Chung, Tai O and Tuen Mun at the end of Sha Lo Wan Pier.
