Site of Fat Tau Chau Custom Station, Archaeological site and declared monument in Sai Kung District, Hong Kong

This customs station sat on an island and featured stone buildings that controlled maritime trade passing through regional waters. The ruins reveal how structures were arranged and what materials builders used during that period.

A customs station existed on Fat Tau Chau from the Tang and Song periods, with a detailed record dating to 1200. It was already abandoned by the Jiaqing era of the Qing dynasty. A station was re-established in 1868 and became a Kowloon Customs sub-station in 1887, before being closed in 1898 when the New Territories were leased to Britain.

Inscriptions carved into stones at the site reveal how merchants and officials communicated across different regions through maritime trade networks. These marks show the connections that linked this place to distant trading partners.

The site occupies an island accessible only by boat, so plan a water journey to visit. Objects found here are displayed at a museum in the city center, giving you more context about what you see at the ruins.

The stele found here was first spotted in 1962 by the Hong Kong teacher Chu Wai-tak, later a TV presenter, but the government took no notice until a 1979 Antiquities and Monuments Office survey uncovered a four-piece stone inscription reading "德懷交趾國貢賦遙通" above "稅廠值理重修". The exact date of the stone remains undetermined.