Abandoned Homes in Hong Kong

Sister Nanette Powell, Elder John Powell, Sister Linda Orton, Elder Kim Orton and we Chamberlains all went on a Saturday morning to Luk Keng area in Northeast Hong Kong's New Territories next to the mainland border. We had read about a village that had been abandoned by most of its residents. Sister Powell loves to walk through abandoned structures, and couldn't wait to do this the last week of her mission. So off we went on a very cold day. We were not disappointed.

Sister Orten (left), Elder Chamberlain, Sister Powell ask, "Hey, anybody home?" These particular homes were locked up. Inside it looked like the occupants had simply gotten up and walked out the door without taking anything with them. We were shocked that the families had left without packing anything, and also surprised that the homes were not vandalized or destroyed. 

Some homes had been abandoned for much longer periods. This is one of many that had large trees growing in the rooms. Some trees were 20-30 feet tall, and shot up through crumbled roofs. 

Mystery solved. I met this Mrs. Wong who told me that everyone had left the village to seek employment in England over the years. She is a Hakka native (she speaks "Hakka Waa"), but had learned enough Cantonese over the years that we could talk to each other. She was initially concerned about having her picture taken because on a previous occasion she inexplicably showed up in a newspaper. She was unaware about the newspaper until shopping one day someone came up to her and showed her a newspaper with her picture on the front page. We convinced her we were not reporters. 

Some of the abandoned homes were re-purposed as shrines by the remaining residents. 

We believe this was a very interesting grindstone with a hole on the side of the top disk for a wooden handle, and a hole in the top to pour grain. 

The local village temple's roof, with very ornate creatures. The building was well maintained. 

Many of the homes' floorboards, joists and beams were rotted all the way through. Usually, there was a fine 3-4 inch thick blanket of wood dust from termites. 

Very fascinating trees and roots attached to the buildings, actually giving them more support.

Very intriguing. 

One of the highlights of the venture. This is a bamboo forest with tangles of old, hollow bamboo stocks rubbing against each other in the wind. The sound it generated made it seem like it was alive and communicating with another tangle of trees a few meters away. It was an acoustical treasure. That's me recording the sound on my phone with Elder Orton behind me.  

Hiking up the path behind the homes, we got views of another village and the mainland China city on the other side of a small bay. Here is a protected place for the bones of a family's relatives. Chinese custom is to exhume the bodies of loved ones, clean the bones, and place them in jars for a while. Then, with the right fung shui, the relative is buried in a final resting place. The final resting place is often a horseshoe-shaped structure that sits on a mountainside and collects good qi so that the relative will be happy and assist the living.  

We believe this is a rather isolated section of Shenzhen across the bay from the Hong Kong side. 

We are happy to be in such a beautiful place, even though it's abnormally cold for Hong Kong.