Mystery rock on Cheung Chau

Hi Tung,

The flowers in the photo I posted above are on a walk along the path below Lung Fu Shan on Hong Kong island. It's a small open area that has been paved, but I'm not sure if the tree was planted by the government or by local morning walkers. I see I took that photo in December, so maybe good to ask again at that time when the flowers are in bloom.

Regards, David

PS Feel free to post a link to your music for anyone interested to take a listen to.

Hello David,

In the old day, friends kept asking what kind of tree that was and we just had no idea at all. So mysterious yet its flowering never fade away from my memory! The Twin EC at CTK had known to me from the very early day as being an infant. I have a photo showing I was carried in my mom's arm under one of the Twin EC. Based on the size, I estimate they were likely the first batch of imported trees during the mid-1800s.

Next time wherever if there are the dried EC seedpods fallen to the ground to be found, I hope, someone would help start more new plants. They are very ornamental and a paradise tree for some birds.

My music is near complete as far as the music score is concerned and will surely open to all who love to play it.

Warm regards

Tung

Hello folks,

I would like to thank gwulo ( how to pronounce it? ) for inspiration on many ideas.The music score, without lyrics, is basically done and will be released to be shared with others. Since I am really not a musician, to myself it is quite a bold project which motivates my desire to express or learn through using the electronic keyboard to create something within my limited ability. Hopefully we might enjoy it and have more other tree songs from others too.

I purposedly drop the word Caffra in order to include a much larger selection on various sub-trees under the Erythrina family. All their flowers bear many similarities. Therefore the title is to be called as The Song of Erythrina Flowers Wonders. Also can be : Song of Flowering Coral tree.

Will welcome other suggestions too!

Regards, Tung

Hi Tung, it's my attempt to write a roman alphabet version of 古老.

Regards, David

Hello David,

Good day!...........Now it seems quite cold and dry for this Winter in Hong Kong, is it not? I guess the season of the Erythrinas Blossom has come once again. Could you help to call for a photo taking or watching on this red flowers, which origin is from Africa or India. Hope to spread the beauty of this amazing Corel tree to warm up the City of Hong Kong. Kung Hey Good Health!!!

Regards

Tung

Hello,

Recently I have an interest on the work the London Missionary Society during the early years, like 1905 and so on,  on the island of Chung Chau. That would be  records and files, even pictures  somewhere.

I have a feeling that the Twin Gigantic Erythrina Caffra Trees at the CTK kindergarten site was somehow an early location of their contact. The Twin Trees were so huge that I estimate that could be easily over 150 years in 1950s. I was there as a baby in one of my family photos.

Later on my father operated the CTK on the same old building site. Our neighbour was the Cheung Chau Church of the Church of Christ In China. Its forerunner was a mission church formed by London Misssionary Society in the early 1900s.

Several years ago, Sean had mentioned that his grand father received a Bible from Rev. Pearce of LMS. Would that be the same person?

And Where the LMS site on Cheung Chau in those early days? 

Regards

Tung

The LMS archive is held at SOAS in London: 

https://www.soas.ac.uk/library/archives/collections/missionary-collecti…

Thanks David,

& as for the Twin gigantic Erythrina trees, I suppose they were planted around early 1800s. They might be from India, .....What business they did on the CC island?  From many old pictures I also realise there once was a huge ' Rock' about 60 to 70 yards east of the bigger Erythrina tree. By my time, this huge Rock became a group of shattered boulders, with evidences showing dynamites were used to break it up and probably became constructional.

But during the 1800s, Cheung Chau was in the Cheung Po Tsai time. Maybe the Chinese navy need help from the British navy to shift out the pirates......... Can you be a little bit more creative.....

Regards, Tung

Hello David,

I always remember the beautiful CTK site with several huge trees. It was the rear portion of the green belt of thick forest begining from the shore at Hung Shing Temple, running through the land of Fong Pin Hospital and CC Residents Association and CC's Church of Christ in China, It also covered up Shun Tak Tong Xian Hwui (sound right?) and the Tai Sier Tann.

Today one can access the old CTK site by stepping up the lane way to Yan Chak Yuen from School Road. It is the same lane way to the CC's Church of Christ in China. There is a concrete signed open gate visible from the Intersection at School Road, about the same location of a garbage collection spot and a protestant church..The sign which is several steps  from the main School, tells the names of two or three buildings, namely, the Kam Kwong Kindergarten and Nursary, and the Church of Christ in China. So going up for about 20 plus steps, there was once a tiny Y-intersection (  going to the back of Tai Sier Tann, but may not exist now) just outside the building of  Shun Tak Tong Xian Hwu, one can see there stands a Bounary Stone. It could be under some bushes now!!

This stone can be lined up roughly from the St. John Hospital with Goa San Cheun Street across the valley of Tai Choi Yuen, all the way to the Fairly Well area.

As I remember our old landlord had told us that there  was a boundary line between the CTK and  CC in China because of the stone naerby. He thought the line was a guideline for an avenue to be constructed  in future.Therefore all new housings or properties must give up to government for a partial reservation on that purpose. Which means if everything goes as being said, one of the twin Erythrinas on the west would be directly in the way of such an avenue. Today the Erythrina site is the Yan Chak Yuen, having 3 (or 4) residetial blocks.

Again the Stone is about 60 plus feet before the entrance to the yard of YCY.

Do you want to check it out

Regards, Tung

This is my speculation....

It was probably a special fruit tree from India.

During the 1890s migrants from India tried to look for employments in Hong Kong, they first settled on the island of Cheung Chau as a step-over. They probably were asked to stay around the Tai Shek Hau area behind the Tin Hau Temple.The hillet here was full of boulders big and small.and it was not a good choice to be a village. So the colonial department might allow a temporary work camp for the Indian newcomers in transit to help develop the aera as much as they could do.

They probably did not bring their families with them. That explain why they vanished almost without a trace. And the mysterious fruit tree was then planted and grew very well since. That is the only evidence we have to conclude about their temporary stay, maybe just a few decades of the early colonial era. Not only that. they also started the small guava plantation too. But the fruits were quite bad, due to the poor quality of the soils.Only some yielded tasty guava.

Do you remember the long-eared wild men I once mentioned in one of this gwulo postings? He could be part of the evidence about the past existence of a Indian village or work camp there.

By the time the CLCY landlord made his claim on the property in the early 1900s (?), most Indian migrants no longer needed Cheung Chau island as the step-over to the City of Hong Kong ( ie Victoria )

Possible?

Tung
 

A careful examination on the CTK site from the 1924 Nov 25 aerial photo of Cheung Chau, I actually realise there were dubiously a tiny forest of 4 to 6 huge Erythrina trees on the parcel of land there. These decideous forest in wintery Novemner can easily be identified among the other tree patterns with my rusty memory.The other huge decideous trees were the Chinese Greenberry Trees, but were exterior of the Erythrinas.The photo shows a clearing on the north-east with 2 to 3 tiny rowhouses by the huge rock mentioned earlier.

And about 1941,  2 to 4 huge Erythrina trees needed to disappear for the future church ground and the landlord's villa. ....Sounds good ?

Also, through gwulo, I realise in 1808 Daniel Ross of the Bombay Marine Co had his ship came ashore on Cheung Chau. What and why....Don't know. But that was the same years the navies of China and the Western counterparts were in hot hunting of the Pirate Cheung Po Tsai and his fleets in the same area.

My bold assumption is based on the timing that the Chinese Navy and Taxation or Custom Department were working in agreement to allow a tiny guest camp for the Western soldiers and sailors in transit when they helped searching the Pirate CPT on CC. The Erythrina Trees were planted on the camp ground to denote the location so that other western soldiers or sailors would know the place they could stay once they were invited therein. We don't know which foreign navies, British or Porteguees or both.

The origin of the Erythrina Trees can be traced from the records of the cargo log lists of the ships once anchored in the CC harbour. Good guess is from India. Just like the mysterious fruit tree of CLCY village. Somethings so nostalgic for the soldiers or sailors who usually were, hired to do the job, from India.

And the estimate of timing of the early 1800s is just so paradoxical!

Of course , no knowledge of the Cave of Cheung Po Tsai was ever made known to the Navies at that time since the CC islanders probably chose to protect their 'hero'.

Any other thoughts?

Tung

PS... Very sadly the remaining Twin Gigantic Erythrina Trees were eliminated when CTK turned into Yan Chak Yuen residence flats in early 1970s.

During my childhood years of the 1950s, we lived in a part of the oldest rowhouse among few houses on the CLCY village, which was right on the hillet behind the Tin Hau Temple of Tai Shek Hau district on CC.

You would discover over there was the largest forested area overlook the Main Harbour of CC. There also grew a wide variety of Tropical fruit tree which is rarely to be found on elsewhere on CC. However we don't see any Lychee nor Loongan ( dragon's eye )  trees---those were supposingly common in South China. And of the huge trees that stood tall and around the CLCY village, they were usually only one tree per speices if they looked to be non-local.

So you would see just one for the following speices: the Mysterious Fruit tree, the huge Starfruit tree, the huge Flaming Flower tree, the Fruitless Mango tree by the well, the huge Banyan tree,  and so forth.

One exception is the Guava tree. There was a small plantation within the village, a dozen or so remained quite fruitful as we knew them.

Another important clue is a lot of snake pits on the site. Some were known to be deadly to us if being bitten without anti-dose treatment within hours.

Local CC islanders won't like to live here. Can you imagine.....

My information from the mouth of the founding Landlord of CLCY indicates the following,

1 He was born around the 1870s

2 He, as a kid,  worked as a meter-carrier for the colonial serveyor on CC from about 1880s

3 The oldest rowhouse already existed before his claim over the CLCY site.

4 The site was vacant for years and nobody really wanted to live there.

5 His colonial boss allowed him to own this Land of  Snakes as free gift as the retirement benefits at the end of his Service. So nice!! About 1930s .....my speculation.

That's why or could you

imagine the sightings of the Long-eared Wild man on the Bushes next to the CLCY in the early 1950s .... It could be the last menber ( & displaced ) of the Lost Community of India. And People from India respect snakes so nice that many even worship them as deity.  CLCY site was once a temporary work camp for people from India, to my opinion, was quite possible.

Be serious, I'm not kidding!!

Tung

Thanks for showing this photo as I'm pretty sure that I used to sit on those rocks to wait for the ferry back to Hong Kong island. I left HK in 2004, so haven't been to the rocks that I'm thinking of for a long time, but I used to spend Sunday of most weekends one one of the outlying islands, and whenever I visted Cheung Chau I followed a set routine - disembark, walk round the island on the pathways, then sit on some prominent rocks overlooking the ferry route to await the ferry that I wanted to catch back to Central. If the photo shows the same rocks, then the island in the background is Lantau, and the ferry from HK would approach from the right of this photo, to berth at the Cheung Chau ferry terminal to the left of the picture. 

Fun fact: each time, I would watch the approaching ferry for a while and try to time the end of my day's trip by climbing down off the rock and getting back to the ferry terminal in time to be early in the queue so as to get a good seat on the outside deck at the back (stern?) of the ferry, but not so early that I spent too much time waiting in the terminal that I could have spent sitting on the rock, still an acutely-remembered dilemma.

I was never able to get the dash down from the rock to the terminal right, and would always arrive 'late', when a large queue had already built up. But it was worth it for the sensation of waching the ferry approaching - always seemingly 'slowly' yet, and this was the game,  too quickly for me to beat it to the terminal!

Remember that the island in the distance is Lantau, and hopefully those rocks can still be found - they're some way from the concrete path and as I walked through the grass/knee-high plants to get to and from them I used to wonder if there were snakes around.

Best wishes,

Martin

I read your post about Cheung Chau with interest, especially the account of the shipwreck during Typhoon Ruby in September 1964. We were in our house in No. 18 Peak Road when the cargo ship came drifting helplessly out of the storm and was thrown against the rocky coast not far from us. It was a truly horrendous drama, and a sight I will never forget. Fortunately the ship lodged in a crevice and was therefore not smashed to pieces. There was nothing we could do to, but fortunately the emergency services came to assist the crew shortly after the shipwreck.  An aerial photo of the ship was printed in Hong Kong Annual Report 1964. I have mentioned this horrific memory in a Facebook posting titled "The Island of Adventure" on the Facebook group "Hong Kong in the '60s" on 31st May 2020. We spent numerous holidays on Cheung Chau in the 1950s and 1960s, so naturally I have many wonderful memories from the island. This memory is probably the most dramatic one.

Hello Shatin Boy,

Glad to know you have witness account on the Shun Fung shipwrecking on CC during the Typhoon Ruby Passover!! I wonder if you would post some related photos on the gwulo page here, for I don't really access to Facebook in most cases.

The location of the shipwreck is right up to an acute rocky shore of the tiny bay where Laura's mystery rock group is in the mid-hill background as seen from #25 or #26 Peak Road. Local kids knowed many wild pineapple plants growing in this cliffy area and some of them loved to harvest this tasty fruits despite of the risks of falling off the cliff.

It was just a few minutes walk from the CLCY village.

I once had a H K year book which includes a flyover photo above the shipwreck, That is the best memory remaining in my mind.

BTW, your stay address on CC is very close to Lok Yuen where a friend of mine once lived in those days.

Thank you for your sharing!

Tung

It brings back many happy memory too!

Tung

Recently I am lucky enough to reconnect with a childhood friend who was one of the few knowing the trick to climb up and play games on this huge tree! One needs to be very gifted for without any rope or ladder it is impossible to climb up vertically on this big trunk.  Hopefully he might share about his happy experience or knowledge with me about this tree.

Regards

Tung

Hello folk

Could some one on Cheung Chau tell me: What is the latest develpoment project on the site at the top of Go San Chuen Road?

From the empty field there, it seems to appear some new changes for the land use. I remember very well that was once the windy headland ideal for Kite Flying to many village kids. I hope it would be a open park again. Is it be good enough for the CC kids today?

Tung

Hi,

I would like to help you, but I don't know about a Go San Chuen Road on our island.

Can you please check the spelling?

Regards,

Hans 

Hi Hans

A recent viewing on CC island through satellite image shows a change of land development on the site near the top of the Go San Chuen Road. My spelling to the name may be wrong, its local name in chinese would be 高 山 村 路 or  道。The lane  winds up to the Peak Road from Tai Choi Yuen Road, at a T intersection not too far from a church.

In the old days, there were only rowhouses or tiny bungalows in the area. That is how I remember in my memory.

regards

Tung

Sorry Tung but I can't help you as I can't identify the location, even I know the island very well.

You may want to browse my Facebook https://www.facebook.com/chef.hans as I have posted a lot of drone aerial pictures covering most of the island, and you may find the location and write a comment.

Or use http://hk.centamap.com/gc/home.aspx and get the correct spelling of the road. 

Have a great day and health.

Regards,

Hans 

Thank you Hans,

Using the map link given by you, it appears as Ko Shan Tsuen area on the slope between Tai Choi Yuen Road and the Peak RoadThis map shows the site is full of trees.

The particular area would be the upper portion, the image I got for the same site has a big area of trees removed, even no grass on the ground.  It seems to be the same area we kids loved to fly our kites in our childhood days.

Is there some kind of new project or development going on now? The site has a very nice view to half of Cheung Chau's landscape plus all around!! Would be great for a new park to the CC islanders and tourists!!

Happy New Year!

Tung

Dear Tung,

I believe which place you referring on Google Map now. 

Over the past years there were many building sites to manly erect privates housings. 

This is one of them.

The government build many additional facilities as well. Some where needed and some are just white elephants in my opinion. 

I wish I could use a time machine and experience the view you had as children flying your kiters there.

Where are you based, nowadays?

I lived around Fa Peng for the past 17 years in 3 different houses. 

We just moved into Seascape Peninsula on 28 Don Bosco Road which used to be house 20. 

Have a great Sunday.

Regards,

Hans 

Hi Hans

When I had to move away to study and later to work in the City District, my mind didn't care about whatever changes going on the CC island. I didn't take much photos before leaving for Canada. So many photos available on the internet are indeed very helpful to solve my empty mind.

To me, the worse was that on my departure off CC I didn't say good-bye to many friends and acquaitances. They were the true beauty of CC islanders; they helped to enrich my brighter side of life in the early years.

About 20 years ago, being an outsider, I revisited the island, I still felt the friendliness like back in the old days. It is truly amazing even though so over-populated there. I think the local has big headache about housing issues. That's no kidding!

BTY I went to the small English College at the junction of Don Bosco Road and Fa Peng Road for few years. Really best natural study enviroment!!  I once went fishing nearby at Nam Tam Wan during a lunch break!! ( better than where I live now-- Vancouver ) But it looked to be a very run-down site now. I remember they had very gifted teachers! 

I am sure that CC remains to be a very friendly community!!

Bless my CC forever!!

Tung

Hello folk!

How many of my reader know about Zhenghe ( 明朝三保太監:  鄭 和  )  ?

After a long while of absence, I have  an idea on the possible  origin about the gigantic Twin Erythrinas Trees, commonly known as the Red Coral Tree, at Ching Tak Kindergarten, ( 正 德 幼 稚 園       學 校道十二號地皮 ).

Previously, I realized they must be around 200 to 300 years old! The site might be an imperial court governing the tiny island of Cheung Chau as an outpost facing the South China Sea. Or simply the home property of a local wealthy family. It makes good sense Zhenghe's fleet might report to the CC outpost or having some repairs to the vessels at the CC's shipyard prior to sailing back to their home port Qianzhou  (  泉州    ) ( ?  ) , a city port best known for the Arabian and Persian traders using the Marine Silk Route since the Yuan Dynasty.

It seems to me that Qianzhou also have many Erythrinas trees.

However after studying the historic accounts of the Zhenghe's Seven Westbound Marine Expeditions,  I realize that it was very likely The Erythrinas trees were being brought back to China from East Africa or India or around the India Ocean, on one of the later trip. If it is true, the age of the Twin Erythrinas Trees  should be about 500+ years.

In future I will try to post more photos of the CTK erythrinas trees, hopefully some expert can estimate the age for us!!

The year would have been in 1420s or 1424 for the start of  the last expedition which reached as far as the coast of East Africa. Then the Twin Erythrinas Tree would be over five hundred years old.

Not only this...

I also recognize  some local islander families actually look quite likely mixed with foreign races. Epeacially among the floating CC population or the fishing community. Some have curling hairs and Arabian or Persian facial characteristics.

Today we have DNA test to sort out our mystery. It should be helpful for us!! But that is not my interest today.

Cheung Chau must have a very interesting history we never think about!

I like to tell story.....

Once upon a time on Cheung Chau island, there was a child of a very poor family. Somehow he knew his  Nth-great-great-father was a faithful servant of a Ming official whose garden standing tall with couple Red Coral Trees, governing the island at that time. And this child just always dream about that one day he would restore the decent living in his life time. So he worked very very hard and kept saving up his earnings over his career time as a coolie. Surely his dream did come true.

He then became a banker in the fishing community and being richer everyday!! And 

(To be continued )

Tung

Hello Folk

While I am not the one capable of telling more about the historical facts related to the poor coolie who had later became a local banker for the fishermen community, there is no doubt for the fact about his property on the CC island stood the Greatest Red Coral Trees, the site of CTK  prior to the development of Yan Chek Yuen in mid-1970s.

Of course there were many other Red Coral Trees scattering on different site like along the Tung Wan  and Koon Yum Wan beaches,  and also a delightful line-up of several along the harbor side.  They seemed to be suitable to grow near the salty ground.  The tree is truly a kind commonly grown by the  coastal shores of Indian ocean.

The wonderful thing about the CTK's  Twin Red Coral Trees is that of the size and the height. That alone sets apart from the rest for a significant age difference not by decades, but by centuries!! So over 500 years old can be a possible clue if Zhenghe's fleet had ever visited CC once on one of the later homage journey around the 1420s or so forth. And a few lucky Red Coral Tree seedlings or young plants were given to the local official or the wealthy family.

There were in fact a small area of dense forest over the the hillet which is on the northern ridge overlooking the Tai Choi Yuen. Many of them are not local by origin. They are absolutely truly tropical trees and flowering plants, like the Flaming Flower Tree, the Royal Palm, the Star Fruit Tree, the Fake Fig Tree , Jasmine and many others I don't even know of their names!! Including the City Icon Flower Plant, the Bauhinia!!

Near the foot of hillet stands the Hom Shing Temple where the neighborhood was well known for the workshops of the shipyard.  Workers in this area had no problems to build and to repair the wooden vessels big or small. There was a small ironsmith near the temple, the shop could handle the repair of heavy anchor, cable wheeler, all the clamps for mask or oaks, metallic propeller,  and other metal crafts' handiwork. That is why CC had long been a very important island several centuries before being colonized by the British  in 1842. For CC was known to  the western shipping traders already. 

Sometimes I wish some trees can talk, or those at CTK  could give clues for us as we read our history in details!!

Tea Time!!!

Tung

It is possible - trees can talk.

Its a matter of genomic mapping huge swathes of plant species all over the world  and build a biodata bank - no easy feat but possible. Time, money, technology and desire to know. Maybe in the future your very questions will be answered. 

Example

Hello folk

The recent Northern Light we have in Canada causes the come-back  of my unique memory long time ago!

I have had a very strange morning on the island of Cheung Chau in the early summer of 1958, just weeks before the family was leaving our lovely CLCY village. We were going to move to the Ching Tak Kindergarten site for good. 

That day, I was being aroused a bit early , probably by the calls and frantic noises of the chickens next door. Through the tiny window,  I saw the outside was entirely in green light. That was very strange, Never see just a thing in all my life.

So I just quietly went up to the Peak Road, back then the road was still a muddy path way. I had the curiosity of every thing new to me. Why the Sky Light is so green! I like to check how about the sea over the Nam Tam Bay, and I run as fast as I could. On the way, no one seems to show up like myself. I know that was not the time for them, it's simply way too early for all of the school kids. BTW it was already in the summer holiday!!

Finally standing on the edge of the headland near the cliff, I saw the whole landscape indeed covered  with this green light even over the sea in the southeast direction. It lasted, I estimate,  for further 10 minuets and then progressively changing to a normal morning scenario. But I had no idea when it started,  any  idea ??

I actually told my friends in the later days. No one saw it. They were not there to see.

Now it seems to be  a rare Northern Light, like the one many people watch a week ago.   For the magnetic poles of our SUN flip around every 11 years. And 1958 ,  ie  66 years ago, was indeed making good sense for extra-strength magnetic storms that happened as the sight I experienced. I believe my long time mystery of the Green Light Morning in the early summer on Cheung Chau  is solved, the universe is so wonderfully created and operated!

How Great Thou Art!!

Agree?

Tung