ENG-1978 — Page 27

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NEW TOWNS

psychiatric wing at Princess Margaret Hospital, in Kwai Chung, is being built and will be completed by 1980.

Tsuen Wan is fortunate in that, like the other two new towns, it has a natural backdrop of mountain slopes; in the distance is Tai Mo Shan (958 metres), the highest point in Hong Kong, while the hills nearby are wooded and dotted with numerous temples. Some excavation of hill-slopes has been necessary because of construction work, but new sites are now being formed on more gentle slopes and vegetation is being replanted. Trees are preserved, wherever possible, and landscape consultants are keeping a close watch on the course of general development.

Tuen Mun: Keeping the Hills Green

Tuen Mun New Town lies in a valley on the western side of the New Territories, about 32 kilometres from the Star Ferry, Kowloon, at the head of Castle Peak Bay. Foot-hills flank the town on the east while to the west the majestic Castle Peak rises to a height of 583 metres. The famous Tsing Shan Buddhist Monastery, established in the fifth century, nestles into the lower slopes of the mountain; it was here, accord- ing to legend, that a Buddhist saint named Pui To became abbot after a gruelling journey across the sea in a begging bowl.

In ancient days Tuen Mun was known throughout southern China as a prosperous trading port. War, invasion and harassment by pirates brought a decline in its fortunes, but early this century it was still well-known for its fishing fleet and even in recent years junks, with their bat-winged sails, were of a size resembling old-time Spanish galleons. Tuen Mun was also a small but prosperous agricultural centre.

For the modern town planners and builders, the area has presented a great oppor- tunity. Here, in contrast to Tsuen Wan, they have been able to create a new environ- ment largely unencumbered by previous development. Some villages have been resumed while others are being preserved in a natural setting. Half the new town, which is divided by a realigned river channel, is being built on land reclaimed from Castle Peak Bay and the adjoining marshes. The Tuen Mun fishing fleet, while less than half the size of former days – in 1965 it numbered 1,500 junks and now there are less than 700 is continuing to have the facilities it needs, using the reclaimed waterfront and the new 40.5-hectare typhoon anchorage. Outside the anchorage, boatyards and timber-yards are to be accommodated.

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Tuen Mun eventually will have a population of about 530,000 on almost 1,180 hectares of land, with a possible extension into the So Kwun Wat and Siu Lam areas to provide another 37 hectares of land for 30,000 people. Development has been planned in three stages and construction work on each of these stages is proceeding. Many new factories are being built to provide work for the increasing number of people. About 90 per cent of the work-force will have jobs in light industry and the remainder, besides fishing, will work in service industries such as plumbing, car main- tenance and electrical repairs. Eight primary schools and eight secondary schools will be ready for use by 1980 to cater for young people, and the 1,300-bed Tuen Mun Hospital is to be completed by 1984.

In Tuen Mun, a pleasant scenic environment is being maintained through the preservation of attractive features already in existence such as Castle Peak, with its forested slopes and the Tsing Shan Buddhist Monastery; the long beaches stretching