Ping Shan Heritage Trail, Heritage trail in Ping Shan, Yuen Long District, Hong Kong
Ping Shan Heritage Trail is a 1.6 km route through Hang Tau Tsuen, Hang Mei Tsuen and Sheung Cheung Wai in Yuen Long, linking 14 historic buildings. Its landmarks include the Tang Ancestral Hall, a three-hall structure with two courtyards, and the Yu Kiu Ancestral Hall, both declared monuments in 2001. The trail also passes the 600-year-old Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda, Hong Kong's only ancient pagoda, and Sheung Cheung Wai, the only walled village on the route.
Tang Yuen-ching moved from Kam Tin to Ping Shan in 1216, during the Song dynasty, founding the settlement that grew into the villages of the trail. The trail itself opened on 12 December 1993 as Hong Kong's first heritage route, funded by the Hong Kong Jockey Club and the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust. In 2007 the 1899 Old Ping Shan Police Station became the Tang Clan Gallery and Visitors Centre.
The trail passes through villages of the Tang clan, who settled here in the 12th century. The Tang Ancestral Hall, built about 700 years ago, still holds ancestral tablets and hosts worship and traditional festivals. The Yu Kiu Ancestral Hall, built in the early 16th century, housed a primary school from 1931 to 1961. The Earth God shrine, known as She Kung, is a simple brick structure with stones representing the deity.
The trail runs about 1.6 km through Hang Tau Tsuen, Hang Mei Tsuen and Sheung Cheung Wai, with signposts and stone markers along the way and information boards at the monuments. Some historic buildings are privately owned and may be closed; in December 2021 villagers sealed off parts of the route in protest, while the visitor centre in the Old Ping Shan Police Station stayed open.
Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda, the "Pagoda of Gathering Stars", was built by Tang Yin-tung, the seventh-generation ancestor of the Ping Shan Tang clan, more than 600 years ago according to the clan genealogy. It was raised so that flooding disasters might be prevented for the village. It is Hong Kong's only ancient pagoda and became a declared monument on 14 December 2001.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,076 contributors worldwide.