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had become sailors, and those who had emigrated overseas. Some men also moved away to work in the city or foreign countries during the depression in the 1950s, which hit farmers particularly hard as the price of produce, especially rice, fell. As a result, female villagers gradually came to outnumber their male counterparts during the period from the early 20th century to the 1950s. In the meantime, emigrants from Hai-lu-feng and Ch'ing-yuan in south China flocked to Tung Chung's Sha Tsui Tau and Ma Wan Chung. Some of them became managerial farmers, specializing in vegetable growing and animal husbandry, keeping chicken runs and piggeries, etc., thus changing the area's traditional farming pattern. Later, when Ma Wan Chung rose to be Tung Chung's business centre, after the construction of the pier there, these new immigrants started to diversify their investments, going into the grocery business and becoming shopowners in the vicinity of the pier. The owner of the Shun-ch'ang Store, for example, is a San-shui native.
In need of financial and human resources, Tung Chung seems to be especially tolerant of “outsiders” who invest in the community and eventually settle in one of the villages. Normal practice requires that a newcomer first makes application for permanent residency to the village head, who will then solicit opinions from the villagers. Should there be no objection, permission signed by the village head is issued. Finally, the new settler will host a banquet to entertain villagers, who come to show their goodwill and welcome the newcomer. Since the 1950s, most of the latecoming settlers in Tung Chung have resided and made a living in Ma Wan Chung. Thus, this area has the highest male-to-female ratio among all villages in the entire district. According to a statistical source, the gender structure of Ma Wan Chung's population as compared to that of Shek Mun Kap, for example, in the early 1960s was as follows:
| Village | Male | Female | Children |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ma Wan Chung | 27.1% | 27.1% | 45.8% |
| Shek Mun Kap | 11.5% | 42.4% | 46.1% |
Like Shek Mun Kap, other villages also had far fewer male residents than did Ma Wan Chung. In terms of manpower resources, therefore, Ma Wan Chung undoubtedly enjoys favourable conditions for sponsoring the Houwang's Birthday Festival. For these more recent settlers in Tung Chung, supporting the festivities becomes an important
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had become sailors, and those who had emigrated overseas. Some men also moved away to work in the city or foreign countries during the depression in the 1950s, which hit farmers particularly hard as the price of produce, especially rice, tell " As a result, female villagers gradually came to outnumber their male counterparts during the period from the early 20th century to the 1950s. In the meantime, emigrants from Hai-lu-feng and Ch'ing-yuan in south China flocked to Tung Chung's Sha Tsui Tau and Ma Wan Chung Some of them became managerial farmers, specializing in vegetable growing and animal husbandry, keeping chicken runs and piggeries, etc., thus changing the area's traditional farming pattern. Later when Ma Wan Chung rose to be Tung Chung's business centre, after the construction of the pier there, these new immigrants started to diversify their investments, going into the grocery business and becoming shopowners in the vicinity of the pier. The owner of the Shun-ch'ang Store, for example, is a San- shiu [lk native TM
In need of financial and human resources, Tung Chung seems to be especially tolerant of “outsiders” who invest in the community and eventually settle in one of the villages. Normal practice requires that a newcomer first makes application for permanent residency to the village head, who will then solicit opinions from the villagers. Should there he no objection, a permission signed by the village head, is issued. Finally, the new settler will host a banquet to entertain villagers, who come to show their goodwill and welcome the newcomer." Since the 1950s, most of the latecoming settlers in Tung Chung have resided and made a living in Ma Wan Chung. Thus, this area has the highest male-to-female ratio among all villages in the entire district. According to a statistical source, the gender structure of Ma Wan Chung's population as compared to that of Shek Mun Kap, for example, in the early 1960s was as follows:""
Village
Male
Female
Children
Ma Wan Chung
27 1%
27.1%
45.8%
Shek Mun Kap
11.5%
42.4%
46,1%
Like Shek Mun Kap, other villages also had far fewer male residents than did Ma Wan Chung In terms of manpower resources, therefore, Ma Wan Chung undoubtedly enjoys favourable conditions for sponsoring the Houwang's Birthday Festival. For these more recent settlers in Tung Chung, supporting the festivities becomes an important
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