Tung Chung Fort
Tung Chung Fort | |
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Native name 東涌古城, 東涌堡 or 東涌炮台 | |
Location | Lantau Island, Hong Kong |
Built | Shun Hei era |
Designated | 24 August 1979 |
Reference no. | 9 |
Tung Chung Fort | |
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Hanyu Pinyin | Dōngchōng Zhàichéng |
Yue: Cantonese | |
Yale Romanization | Dūng chūng jaaih sìhng |
Jyutping | Dung1 cung1 zaai6 sing4 |
Tung Chung Fort is a fort located near Tung Chung, on Lantau Island, in Hong Kong. Close to Tung Chung Road, the fort is surrounded by the villages of Sheung Ling Pei (上嶺皮) and Ha Ling Pei (下嶺皮). It has a companion Tung Chung Battery on the coast.
History
Tung Chung Fort was originally built in the Shun Hei era (淳熙, 1174–1189) of the
During the Qing dynasty, many pirates, including the well known Cheung Po Tsai, chose the bay of Tung Chung as their base and made use of the fort. The Qing Government recovered the fort after the surrender of Cheung Po Tsai. In 1832 (or 1817 alternatively) the fort was rebuilt and garrisoned by the Right Battalion of Tai Peng to defend the coast from pirates until the lease of New Territories to Britain in 1898. The fort was then abandoned.
During World War II, the Imperial Japanese Army occupied the fort.
Tung Chung Fort went through several transformations later. It served as a police station and then as Wa Ying College. Now, it is the base for the Rural Committee Office and the Tung Chung Public School.
In 1979, it was declared a monument and was refurbished in 1988.
Features
There are six still intact old muzzle-loading cannons, each resting on a cement base with enclosures made of granite blocks, which measure 70 by 80 metres (230 by 260 ft). Three arched gateways, each engraved with a Chinese inscription, are spaced along the walls.
Transportation
The fort can be reached from
See also
Further reading
- ISSN 1991-7295.
- Siu, Anthony K.K. (1982). "More About the Tung Chung Fort" (PDF). Journal of the ISSN 1991-7295.