Hong Kong is after all not a particularly big city but there is a big part called New Territories which is an unknown quantity to me. My impressions on New Territories all come from bits and pieces from TV programmes, but I finally had some first-hand experience and impression on this part of Hong Kong when I stayed in the district of Tin Shui Wai over the Lunar New Year holiday. I have never thought that rural landscape and charm can still exist in an ultramodern ever-changing Hong Kong!
雖說香港地方細小，但新界對我來說一直是個陌生的地方，印象完全來自電視零碎的片段，直至過年時在天水圍住了兩星期，我才體會到新界原來另有一番景象，更意想不到這轉變急促、高度現代化的城市還容得下一點鄉土氣息！
On the second day of the Lunar New Year (24th Januray) I followed my brother and his family to the village at Wang Toi Shan where his wife’s family used to live. I didn’t have the faintest idea of where the village was, until my brother’s father-in-law started pointing out to me some landmarks along the road, such as the Shek Kong Airfield and the former location of Choi Yuen Tsuen, a village that had been relocated to make way for the construction of the high-speed rail link joining Hong Kong to China’s high-speed railway network. (The relocation was big news in Hong Kong’s media a couple of years ago due to the string of campaigns fighting against it.) Only then could I start to orientate myself and actually pinpoint these place names that I have heard a lot from the news. Once we’ve arrived, the brother of my sister-in-law took me on a tour of Wang Toi Shan and explained a bit of the culture and architecture of the village.
年初二那天，二弟剛好要到橫台山外家那兒拜年，我貪新鮮便跟隨他「大城里入鄉」了。其實橫台山確實在哪裡我並毫無概念，祇是當同車的二弟的岳父沿途給我指出哪裡是石崗軍營、哪裡是以前的菜園村時（現已成高鐵工地了），我才可以稍作定向，而這些新聞名字也突然變得真實了。下車後拜訪過第一家後不久，弟媳婦的哥哥便帶我在村內走了一圈，給我講解該村的一點風土人情和建築佈局，令我對村落有深入一點的認識。
The Lunar New Year atmosphere was definitely stronger in villages compared to the urban areas. The shreds of red fire crackers on the ground were a common sight (although fire crackers are illegal in Hong Kong!) so were the gatherings of 20 to 30 or so people in front of various houses. The fun was not limited to the mahjong or other games that they were playing. Receiving the red packets (a Chinese custom where people hand out little red ‘envelopes’ with money inside as they greet each other during Lunar New Year) was also an interesting experience in such a setting, as there was a constant tide of red packets flowing towards my direction without me starting off the new year greetings (but of course I remembered to say them when I received them!) Unlike the normal situation when I could usually remember who gave me which red packet, it was an impossible task with a big pile of red packets at hand. It also dawned on the wife of my sister-in-law’s brother how her husband could be so ungrateful and forgot who gave him all those goodies!
過年到訪新界村落，跟市區最明顯不同的，就是一地炮仗碎（雖然是不可以放炮仗的！）還有聚了二三十人拜年的民居，看他們可以在門前架桌子打麻將或玩些甚麼遊戲或坐在一起聊天，真夠熱鬧的，但最難忘的還是那種閃電式「逗利是」（收紅包），祇要逐一跟那些人說句吉祥說話，紅包便會如潮水般湧至（當然派紅包的也會驚覺紅包流失的速度！）拜年過後是根本沒法分得出哪個紅包是誰給的，弟媳婦的嫂嫂也是第一次跟老公入鄉，離開時她仿然大悟為何她以前會怪她老公沒禮貌，問他是誰給他紅包也答不出！
After the fiery celebrations ... 炮竹聲聲除舊
Two days later I spent the morning at the Chinese University in Sha Tin, then moved on to Tai Po in the afternoon, to the village of Lam Tsuen. The village is famous for its wishing tree, and it was little surprise that people were flocking there during Lunar New Year to make their new year wishes. But the crowd magically disappeared as I ventured only a few hundred metres away the village square where the wishing tree and temple were. I came to a quieter part of the village which opened up to some hills and fields. Although I was actually not that far away from the centre of action, the sounds of the chatter, gongs and lion dance seemed to have come from a long way filtered by sound barriers. I took the opportunity to soak up the tranquility of the scenery in front of me.
到了年初四，上午到過中文大學後，下午便慕名到大埔林村祈祈福。林村因村內的許願樹聞名，過年時份擠滿了前來祈福和趁熱鬧的人早是意料之內，但沒想到祇消稍為遠離熙攘的廣場，便可看到一片恬靜的田野景緻，遙望田園中還有三數株仍未收割的年花，廣場的鑼鼓聲和喧鬧聲，雖然距離不遠，但傳到田野就好像隔了好幾層屏障一樣，令田園彷彿增添一層隔絕的感覺。
The fields at Lam Tseun 林村的農田
After a while I made my way back to the village square, followed the mass and made my wish to the wishing tree. I bought a ‘projectile’ consisting of a piece of card tied to a plastic orange, wrote my wishes on the card and threw it to the plastic wishing tree which was dangling with thousands of other good wishes. Of course a long time ago everything wasn’t made of plastic. There was a real tree and people would use real oranges, but after many years of battering by and bearing the weight of those oranges, the branches suffered from damage and eventually the whole tree became very sick. The villagers took pity of the tree and devised a plastic tree in place of the real thing, so that the fanfare of the wishing tree could continue and the sick tree would have a chance to come back to life. No one minded and this tossing of one’s wish on the tree is as popular as ever. While everyone was all busy making their wishes, they ought to wish the original tree a speedy recovery too!
回到廣場，我當然入鄉隨俗，買了隻寶牒，一端是卡紙，另一端就繫了個塑膠橙，在卡紙上寫上新年願望後便拋到一株仿真許願樹上。話說從前寶牒繫上真橙，拋上原來的許願樹後便要那棵樹承受橙的重力，年復年、遊人有增無減又打理不妥，許願樹結果七癆八傷，要弄棵塑膠樹代替、寶牒改用塑膠橙，好讓傷樹休養，幾經多年才開始有復元的跡象。塑膠樹無減大家的熱情，每分鐘都聚了十來二十人拋寶牒，始終大家都想新一年有新希望、好開始嘛，但願許願樹也終有一天會完全復元吧！
雖說香港地方細小，但新界對我來說一直是個陌生的地方，印象完全來自電視零碎的片段，直至過年時在天水圍住了兩星期，我才體會到新界原來另有一番景象，更意想不到這轉變急促、高度現代化的城市還容得下一點鄉土氣息！
On the second day of the Lunar New Year (24th Januray) I followed my brother and his family to the village at Wang Toi Shan where his wife’s family used to live. I didn’t have the faintest idea of where the village was, until my brother’s father-in-law started pointing out to me some landmarks along the road, such as the Shek Kong Airfield and the former location of Choi Yuen Tsuen, a village that had been relocated to make way for the construction of the high-speed rail link joining Hong Kong to China’s high-speed railway network. (The relocation was big news in Hong Kong’s media a couple of years ago due to the string of campaigns fighting against it.) Only then could I start to orientate myself and actually pinpoint these place names that I have heard a lot from the news. Once we’ve arrived, the brother of my sister-in-law took me on a tour of Wang Toi Shan and explained a bit of the culture and architecture of the village.
年初二那天，二弟剛好要到橫台山外家那兒拜年，我貪新鮮便跟隨他「大城里入鄉」了。其實橫台山確實在哪裡我並毫無概念，祇是當同車的二弟的岳父沿途給我指出哪裡是石崗軍營、哪裡是以前的菜園村時（現已成高鐵工地了），我才可以稍作定向，而這些新聞名字也突然變得真實了。下車後拜訪過第一家後不久，弟媳婦的哥哥便帶我在村內走了一圈，給我講解該村的一點風土人情和建築佈局，令我對村落有深入一點的認識。
A pond in front of the village hall is a common layout for villages in Hong Kong, as water is often associated with wealth according to Cantonese people.
鄉公所前的池塘，有聚財之意（因廣東人認為水為財）
One of the many ancestral halls in the village
村內幾個祠堂之一
The communal kitchen in one of the ancestral halls
其中一個祠堂內的大廚房
The few remaining houses with the traditional black roofs and brick walls
保留了傳統建築元素的樓房，碩果僅存
The village school
鄉村學校The Lunar New Year atmosphere was definitely stronger in villages compared to the urban areas. The shreds of red fire crackers on the ground were a common sight (although fire crackers are illegal in Hong Kong!) so were the gatherings of 20 to 30 or so people in front of various houses. The fun was not limited to the mahjong or other games that they were playing. Receiving the red packets (a Chinese custom where people hand out little red ‘envelopes’ with money inside as they greet each other during Lunar New Year) was also an interesting experience in such a setting, as there was a constant tide of red packets flowing towards my direction without me starting off the new year greetings (but of course I remembered to say them when I received them!) Unlike the normal situation when I could usually remember who gave me which red packet, it was an impossible task with a big pile of red packets at hand. It also dawned on the wife of my sister-in-law’s brother how her husband could be so ungrateful and forgot who gave him all those goodies!
過年到訪新界村落，跟市區最明顯不同的，就是一地炮仗碎（雖然是不可以放炮仗的！）還有聚了二三十人拜年的民居，看他們可以在門前架桌子打麻將或玩些甚麼遊戲或坐在一起聊天，真夠熱鬧的，但最難忘的還是那種閃電式「逗利是」（收紅包），祇要逐一跟那些人說句吉祥說話，紅包便會如潮水般湧至（當然派紅包的也會驚覺紅包流失的速度！）拜年過後是根本沒法分得出哪個紅包是誰給的，弟媳婦的嫂嫂也是第一次跟老公入鄉，離開時她仿然大悟為何她以前會怪她老公沒禮貌，問他是誰給他紅包也答不出！
After the fiery celebrations ... 炮竹聲聲除舊
Two days later I spent the morning at the Chinese University in Sha Tin, then moved on to Tai Po in the afternoon, to the village of Lam Tsuen. The village is famous for its wishing tree, and it was little surprise that people were flocking there during Lunar New Year to make their new year wishes. But the crowd magically disappeared as I ventured only a few hundred metres away the village square where the wishing tree and temple were. I came to a quieter part of the village which opened up to some hills and fields. Although I was actually not that far away from the centre of action, the sounds of the chatter, gongs and lion dance seemed to have come from a long way filtered by sound barriers. I took the opportunity to soak up the tranquility of the scenery in front of me.
到了年初四，上午到過中文大學後，下午便慕名到大埔林村祈祈福。林村因村內的許願樹聞名，過年時份擠滿了前來祈福和趁熱鬧的人早是意料之內，但沒想到祇消稍為遠離熙攘的廣場，便可看到一片恬靜的田野景緻，遙望田園中還有三數株仍未收割的年花，廣場的鑼鼓聲和喧鬧聲，雖然距離不遠，但傳到田野就好像隔了好幾層屏障一樣，令田園彷彿增添一層隔絕的感覺。
The road to Lam Tseun was decorated with red lanterns and planted with colourful flowers.
前往林村的林錦公路張燈結彩
The entrance to Lam Tseun
林村入口
The fields at Lam Tseun 林村的農田
After a while I made my way back to the village square, followed the mass and made my wish to the wishing tree. I bought a ‘projectile’ consisting of a piece of card tied to a plastic orange, wrote my wishes on the card and threw it to the plastic wishing tree which was dangling with thousands of other good wishes. Of course a long time ago everything wasn’t made of plastic. There was a real tree and people would use real oranges, but after many years of battering by and bearing the weight of those oranges, the branches suffered from damage and eventually the whole tree became very sick. The villagers took pity of the tree and devised a plastic tree in place of the real thing, so that the fanfare of the wishing tree could continue and the sick tree would have a chance to come back to life. No one minded and this tossing of one’s wish on the tree is as popular as ever. While everyone was all busy making their wishes, they ought to wish the original tree a speedy recovery too!
回到廣場，我當然入鄉隨俗，買了隻寶牒，一端是卡紙，另一端就繫了個塑膠橙，在卡紙上寫上新年願望後便拋到一株仿真許願樹上。話說從前寶牒繫上真橙，拋上原來的許願樹後便要那棵樹承受橙的重力，年復年、遊人有增無減又打理不妥，許願樹結果七癆八傷，要弄棵塑膠樹代替、寶牒改用塑膠橙，好讓傷樹休養，幾經多年才開始有復元的跡象。塑膠樹無減大家的熱情，每分鐘都聚了十來二十人拋寶牒，始終大家都想新一年有新希望、好開始嘛，但願許願樹也終有一天會完全復元吧！
The Tin Hau Temple in Lam Tseun
林村的天后廟
Apart from well wishing, Lam Tseun also hosted an exhibition of the floats that went on the Chinese New Year Night Parade and a visit by performers of the Yao ethnicity from Shaoguan.
除許願外，林村亦展出年初一晚巡遊的花車，也有來自韶關的瑤族文化表演。
The wishing trees - the original one and its replacement side by side
原來的許願樹及其替身
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