No_4_May_and_June__1950 — Page 20

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A street scene in the village.

absence of smells which one usually expects to encounter in such surroundings. The paths leading up from the village into the open country were at one time lined with beautiful trees and, as no part of the island above a certain level was out of sight of water, a day spent on Cheungchau was indeed a pleasant experience. Most of the trees, however, were unfortunately felled during the Japanese occupation, and the island to-day presents a rather barren appearance relieved only by isolated groves which are the remnants of the beautiful trees which once flourished.

On the Island of Cheungchau there is celebrated annually a unique festival, known as the "Dar Chiew" Festival, for which there is no counterpart anywhere in China.

Up to 70 years ago, Cheungchau was just another pirate lair on the China Coast, conveniently situated near the mouth of the Pearl River, from which the raiding junks could operate and to which they would return laden with booty and victims held for ransoni. As Hong Kong developed, and the rule of law and order extended beyond the confines of Hong Kong itself, the pirates were driven from Cheungchau and peaceful traders and law-abiding fisherfolk began to settle on the island. As the settlers became more numerous, more houses were built and the village began to spread along the sheltered north-west side of the bay. The levelling of sites and the digging of foundations for new buildings brought to light the results of the depredations of the former pirates, decapitated and mutilated bodies, roughly interred.

During these early years of the establishment of the settlement, the people were plagued by a series of mysterious accidents at home and in the narrow streets, by mild epidemics which carried many people to the grave, and by a number of minor misfortunes such as outbreak of skin trouble, indisposi- tion among the children, etc., etc. These were probably due to poor sanitary conditions and other natural causes, but these daily calamities became linked in the superstitious minds of the inhabitants with the gruesome relics that were being continually turned up, grim reminders of the evil spirits engendered by the tortures and murders perpetrated by the former robbers.

The Government School

The Peniel Mission Church and a Chinese school adjacent to it.

The countryside with glorious tree in foreground.

One of the ancient tree-shaded temples.

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Land's end at

CheungchanL

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