Scout Association of Hong Kong
The Scout Association of Hong Kong is the largest scouting organisation in Hong Kong. Scout training was first introduced in Hong Kong in 1909 and 1910 by the Protestant based Boys' Brigade, Chums Scout Patrols and British Boy Scouts; the Catholic St. Joseph's College, formed its Boy Scout Troop in 1913, registered with the Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom in 1914; the Boy Scouts Association formed its Hong Kong Local Association in July 1915 which became its Hong Kong Branch. After changes to the name of the United Kingdom organisation in 1967, the branch name was changed to The Scout Association Hong Kong Branch. In 1977 The Scout Association of Hong Kong was constituted as an autonomous association and successor to The Scout Association's Hong Kong Branch and became the 111th member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement in 1977. In 2008, the association had 95,877 uniformed members, with 2700 Scout groups in the sections Grasshopper Scouts, Scouts and Rover Scouts, making it the largest uniformed youth organisation in Hong Kong.
The headquarters at the Hong Kong Scout Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon host the administration, headed by the Hong Kong Chief Commissioner. The association runs campsites, including Gilwell Campsite, Tai Tam Scout Centre and Tung Tsz Scout Centre, as well as hostels and Scout Activity Centres, it annually organises the traditional Scout Rally, providing Scout activities. For specific anniversaries, themed jamborees have been organised; the Scout movement is the largest uniform group in Hong Kong, consisting of more than 100,000 members. Scout training was first introduced to boys in Hong Kong in 1909 and 1910, only a few years after the beginning of the Scout movement in the United Kingdom, when Rev. Spink started a Boys' Brigade Company attached to the St. Andrew's Church in Kowloon, in response to popular requests for Scouting activities in the expatriate community of Hong Kong. By 1911, British merchants and military personnel had started to organise Boy Scout troops in the city. On 16 April 1912, Lieutenant-General Baden-Powell, Chief Scout of The Boy Scouts Association, arrived in Hong Kong by HMS Lutzou.
He was a guest in the Government House and discussed with officials of the Hong Kong Government the establishment of a branch of The Boy Scouts Association of the United Kingdom and the organisation of a Boy Scout Movement in the city. Enthusiasts and organisations, including Queen's College and St. Joseph's College, established Boy Scout troops. On 11 September 1913, St. Joseph's College formed a Boy Scout troop. Baden-Powell sent a letter of congratulation to the St. Joseph's College Boy Scouts on 26 November 1913, published in the first issue of the Scout Gazette, the first Scout publication in Hong Kong; the St. Joseph's College troop was the first affiliated with the Boy Scout Association being registered as the 1st Hong Kong Boy Scout Troop on 1 May 1914. At the time, the Chief Scout was Major F. J. Bowen and the Scoutmaster was Albert Edwards. Besides training in map reading and communication, the troop provided training in ambulance by Dr Coleman. On 29 December 1914, the troop was extended with a short-life Sea Scout Troop by Capt. P. Streafield, connected to HMS Triumph of the Royal Navy.
The Troop held the first Scout camp in Murray Barracks. At the same time, Bowen was invited to Peak School to educate pupils in Scouting and the school established a Wolf Cub Pack; the 2nd Hong Kong Scout Troop of St. Andrew's Church was registered on 25 November 1914. Major Alexander Anderson McHardy was appointed Colony Commissioner on 1 May 1914 and then-Governor of Hong Kong Francis Henry May became Chief Scout of Hong Kong. At the beginning all member Scouts were of European descent and not well-recognised by Chinese society. Membership was restricted to those of British nationality. Vice Admiral Robert Hamilton Anstruther succeeded Major McHardy as Colony Commissioner on 1 May 1915; the Boy Scout Association Hong Kong branch started up in July 1915, was responsible for Scout training. At the end of September 1915, there were in total 155 members in the first census. During World War I, many Scouting leaders served in the war, which limited Scouting in Hong Kong, but the 1st World Scout Jamboree between 30 July and 8 August 1920 revived Hong Kong Scouting.
Lieutenant-Colonel F. J. Bowen returned to Hong Kong after the end of the war, participated in the Movement, he reorganised the Hong Kong Branch. At the end of 1920, membership was 140 members; the reorganised branch held a Scout Rally at the Murray Parade Ground on 8 January 1921 at Garden Road, now called Cheung Kong Center. In September 1921, the Reverend George Turner Waldegrave succeeded Bowen, the Scout Movement was established in Hong Kong, though it was still small at 384 members. In the same year, Hong Kong Scouting expanded to the Wolf Cub Section. Sea Scout training had been started in May 1921 with the assistance of the staff of HMS Tamar. Following its success, Waldegrave started the first Sea Scout Troop which he registered in October 1923; the first Prince of Wales Banner Competition, named for Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, was held in Happy Valley on 26 May 1923. The banner stayed with the victorious troop for a year and the troop was honoured with the honorary title of Governor's Troop.
Early Scouters were military officers, priests and older Scouts. Not every Scouter would apply for a warrant, which would be required for the formal registration with the headquarters in London, it took several months to complete the whole application process through mail. Many Scouters stayed only for a short period and
Tai Po District
Tai Po District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. It covers the areas of Tai Po New Town, Lam Tsuen Valley and other surrounding area, its exclave in the northern part of the Sai Kung Peninsula; the Tai Po proper and North Sai Kung, was divided by the Tolo Tolo Harbour. The District is located in the Eastern New Territories; the de facto administrative centre of the district is Tai Po New Town Like Yuen Long, the area of Tai Po used to be a traditional market town. Tai Po New Town, developed around the area of Tai Po and on reclaimed land on the estuaries of Lam Tsuen and Tai Po rivers, it had a population of 310,879 in 2001. The district has the third lowest population density in Hong Kong; the district was named after Tai Po. Lam Tsuen River Tai Po is located in the north of Hong Kong, northeast of Sha Tin. Though the Tai Po Industrial Estate is located in the district, it is still one of the most unpolluted districts in Hong Kong. Tai Po's population density is lower than Kowloon's, having many old, small villages in the mountains.
In addition to the mainland part of the district, the following islands of Hong Kong are under the jurisdiction of Tai Po District: A Chau Breaker Reef - Tai Po Bun Sha Pai Cham Pai Chau Tsai Kok Che Lei Pai Chek Chau Flat Island Hau Tsz Kok Pai Hin Pai Kung Chau Ma Shi Chau Ma Yan Pai Mo Chau Ping Chau Sam Pui Chau Sha Pai Shek Ngau Chau Tang Chau Tap Mun Chau Tit Shue Pai Wai Chau Pai Wu Chau Yeung Chau Because Hong Kong is in a densely populated region, Tai Po Town has copied the many urban areas of Hong Kong by building high-rise apartments. 320,000 people have residences in the town, making high-rise apartments mandatory. These high-rise apartments are located inside estates, such as Fu Heng Estates; these high-rise apartments have floors ranging from the low apartments in Tai Po Old Town to the new estates in northern Tai Po ranging from 20 to 34 levels. The area is serviced by the Tai Po Hui Market, Built in 2004; the Tai Po area has many "village houses", resulting from a 1972 Hong Kong legislation which gave any male heir over the age of 18 who could prove he was descended from one of Hong Kong's original villages in 1898 the right to build a small house on a plot of land, either owned by the village itself or on leased government land.
These houses are restricted by law to be no more than three stories and 27 feet in height, no more than 2,100 square feet in total floor space. There are a few private housing development in the Tai Po area with "detached" and "semi-detached" houses which include communal recreational areas such as swimming pools, tennis courts and children's playgrounds, entertainment facilities such as private cinemas, health spas and karaoke rooms; these developments are excluded from the "village house" law, therefore units are much larger than 2,100 square feet. Owned residential housing in Tai Po included Tai Po Centre, Plover Cove Garden, Uptown Plaza, The Beverly Hills and many other residential estates. Transportation in Tai Po Town is much like any other places of Hong Kong. Due to the high population, Hong Kong has double-decker buses. There are some buses that lead to the rest of Hong Kong such as the bus route 271 that goes from Fu Heng Estate in Tai Po Town to Canton Road in Tsim Sha Tsui and bus route 307 which goes from Central Tai Po Town towards the Central Ferry Piers via Central and Wan Chai of Victoria.
There are buses that lead directly to the airport such as A47X from Tai Po to Hong Kong Airport and E41 from Tai Po Centre to Hong Kong International Airport within 90 minutes. Two railway stations along the East Rail Line serve Tai Po, namely: Tai Po Market Station and Tai Wo Station. Trains originate at the Hong Kong-Chinese border, at either Lo Wu or Lok Ma Chau stations, travel south to Hung Hom Station in Kowloon, passing through Tai Po on the way; the railway known as the KCR British Section, opened in 1910. The old Tai Po Market Station opened on that date and was closed in 1983, when the modern station of the same name opened as part of an upgrading of the line by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation. Tai Wo Station opened in 1989. In 2007 the line was leased for 50 years to the MTR Corporation. Tai Po Kau Station served the Tai Po Kau area between 1910 and 1983, it has since been demolished. Tai Po District are divided by two primary school districts; the 84 school district for Tai Po New Town and surrounding villages, while Sai Kung North belongs to the 95 school district.
As of 2018, there were 19 secondary schools in the whole Tai Po District, all located in the Tai Po New Town. The secondary school district of Tai Po District, was designated "NET NT6". Several international schools are located in the Tai Po District, they did not belonged to any school district. The Tai Po campus of Hong Kong Japanese School's International Section was opened in 1997. American School Hong Kong was scheduled to open in Tai Po in 2016. Norwegian International School occupied a building former known as The Tai Po Bungalow as campus. Li Po Chun United World College, located in Ma On Shan of the Sha Tin district, is near to the border of Sai Kung North exclave of the Tai Po district; the campus of the Education University of Hong Kong the
Hong Kong
Hong Kong the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and abbreviated as HK, is a special administrative region on the eastern side of the Pearl River estuary in southern China. With over 7.4 million people of various nationalities in a 1,104-square-kilometre territory, Hong Kong is the world's fourth most densely populated region. Hong Kong became a colony of the British Empire after Qing Empire ceded Hong Kong Island at the end of the First Opium War in 1842; the colony expanded to the Kowloon Peninsula in 1860 after the Second Opium War, was further extended when Britain obtained a 99-year lease of the New Territories in 1898. The entire territory was transferred to China in 1997; as a special administrative region, Hong Kong's system of government is separate from that of mainland China and its people identify more as Hongkongers rather than Chinese. A sparsely populated area of farming and fishing villages, the territory has become one of the world's most significant financial centres and commercial ports.
It is the world's seventh-largest trading entity, its legal tender is the world's 13th-most traded currency. Although the city has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, it has severe income inequality; the territory has the largest number of skyscrapers in most surrounding Victoria Harbour. Hong Kong ranks seventh on the UN Human Development Index, has the sixth-longest life expectancy in the world. Although over 90 per cent of its population uses public transportation, air pollution from neighbouring industrial areas of mainland China has resulted in a high level of atmospheric particulates; the name of the territory, first spelled "He-Ong-Kong" in 1780 referred to a small inlet between Aberdeen Island and the southern coast of Hong Kong Island. Aberdeen was an initial point of contact between local fishermen. Although the source of the romanised name is unknown, it is believed to be an early phonetic rendering of the Cantonese pronunciation hēung góng; the name translates as "fragrant harbour" or "incense harbour".
"Fragrant" may refer to the sweet taste of the harbour's freshwater influx from the Pearl River or to the odor from incense factories lining the coast of northern Kowloon. The incense was stored near Aberdeen Harbour for export. Sir John Davis offered an alternative origin; the simplified name Hong Kong was used by 1810 written as a single word. Hongkong was common until 1926, when the government adopted the two-word name; some corporations founded during the early colonial era still keep this name, including Hongkong Land, Hongkong Electric and Shanghai Hotels and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. The region is first known to have been occupied by humans during the Neolithic period, about 6,000 years ago. Early Hong Kong settlers were a semi-coastal people who migrated from inland and brought knowledge of rice cultivation; the Qin dynasty incorporated the Hong Kong area into China for the first time in 214 BCE, after conquering the indigenous Baiyue. The region was consolidated under the Nanyue kingdom after the Qin collapse, recaptured by China after the Han conquest.
During the Mongol conquest, the Southern Song court was located in modern-day Kowloon City before its final defeat in the 1279 Battle of Yamen. By the end of the Yuan dynasty, seven large families had settled in the region and owned most of the land. Settlers from nearby provinces migrated to Kowloon throughout the Ming dynasty; the earliest European visitor was Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares, who arrived in 1513. Portuguese merchants established a trading post called in Hong Kong waters, began regular trade with southern China. Although the traders were expelled after military clashes in the 1520s, Portuguese-Chinese trade relations were reestablished by 1549. Portugal acquired a permanent lease for Macau in 1557. After the Qing conquest, maritime trade was banned under the Haijin policies; the Kangxi Emperor lifted the prohibition, allowing foreigners to enter Chinese ports in 1684. Qing authorities established the Canton System in 1757 to regulate trade more restricting non-Russian ships to the port of Canton.
Although European demand for Chinese commodities like tea and porcelain was high, Chinese interest in European manufactured goods was insignificant. To counter the trade imbalance, the British sold large amounts of Indian opium to China. Faced with a drug crisis, Qing officials pursued ever-more-aggressive actions to halt the opium trade; the Daoguang Emperor rejected proposals to legalise and tax opium, ordering imperial commissioner Lin Zexu to eradicate the opium trade in 1839. The commissioner destroyed opium stockpiles and halted all foreign trade, forcing a British military response and triggering the First Opium War; the Qing ceded Hong Kong Island in the Convention of Chuenpi. However, both countries did not ratify the agreement. After over a year of further hostilities, Hong Kong Island was formally ceded to the United Kingdom in the 1842 Treaty of Nanking. Administrative infrastructure was built up by early 1842, but piracy and hostile Qing policies towards Hong Kong prevented the government from attracting merchants.
The Taiping Rebellion, when many wealthy Chinese fled mainland turbulence and settled in the colon
Pat Sin Leng
Pat Sin Leng is a mountain range in the northeast New Territories of Hong Kong, located within the Pat Sin Leng Country Park. The name Pat Sin Leng means "Ridge of the Eight Immortals", who are famous xian in Chinese Mythology, symbolizes the eight peaks along the Pat Sin Leng mountain range, each named after a different Immortal. Shun Yeung Fung is the sixteenth highest peak in Hong Kong with an elevation of 591 m, located in north Tai Po of New Territories, it is the most due west and highest peak of the Pat Sing Leng mountain range. The peak is named after the leader of Eight Immortals, Lü Dongbin's secular name Chunyang Zi. Chung Li Fung is a mountain peak part of the Pat Sin Leng with an elevation of 543 m; the peak is named after one of Zhongli Quan. Kuai Li Fung is a mountain peak part of the Pat Sin Leng with an elevation of 530 m; the peak is named after one of Iron-Crutch Li. Kao Lao Fung is a mountain peak part of the Pat Sin Leng with an elevation of 530 m; the peak is named after one of Elder Zhang Guo.
Hsien Ku Fung is a mountain peak part of the Pat Sin Leng with an elevation of 514 m. The peak is named after one of the Eight Immortals, Immortal Woman He. Sheung Tsz Fung is a mountain peak part of the Pat Sin Leng with an elevation of 510 m; the peak is named after one of Han Xiang. Tsao Kau Fung is a mountain peak part of the Pat Sin Leng with an elevation of 510 m; the peak is named after one of Royal Uncle Cao. Choi Wo Fung is a mountain peak part of the Pat Sin Leng with an elevation of 510 m; the peak is named after one of Lan Caihe. A hill fire broke out on Pat Sin Leng on 10 February 1996, when a group of 49 teachers and students from HKCWC Fung Yiu King Memorial Secondary School were hiking in the mountains. 200 firemen and 4 helicopters were sent to rescue the group. Two teachers, Chau Chi Chai and Wong Sau Mei and three students died, with 13 others injured. Spring Breeze Pavilion was built on the mountain in memory of the five, it was inaugurated by the then-Governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, on 12 March 1996.
List of mountains and hills in Hong Kong Pat Sin Leng at the official web site of the Agriculture and Conservation Department of Hong Kong
Plover Cove Reservoir
Plover Cove Reservoir, located within Plover Cove Country Park, in the northeastern New Territories, is the largest reservoir in Hong Kong in terms of area, the second-largest in terms of volume. It is the world's first freshwater coastal lake constructed from an arm of the ocean, its main dam, which disconnected Plover Cove from the sea, was one of the largest in the world at the time of its construction. Hong Kong lacks significant natural inland water bodies, providing water supply to the territory's population has long been problematic. On 24 July 1958, it was disclosed by a government spokesman that government engineers were studying the idea of converting sea inlets into freshwater lakes, cited Plover Cove as one of the foremost areas under consideration; the plan was considered feasible as the cove was enclosed on three sides, could be cut off from the sea by damming sections of the Tolo Harbour known to be shallow. The government hired the engineering consultancy Binnie and Gourley to undertake a preliminary investigation.
In mid-1959 the engineers delivered a report confirming the feasibility of the plan and laying out the basic arrangement of the proposed dams. They estimated that construction would cost about HK$348 million, plus $60 million for the associated water distribution network. One main dam and three service dams were built to shut the cove off from the sea; the cove was drained and was converted into a freshwater lake. Construction work commenced in 1960 and was completed in 1968, providing a capacity of 170 million m3. Work on raising the height of the dams began in 1970. Upon completion in 1973, the reservoir capacity was increased to 230 million m3; the dam of the reservoir is 28 metres tall and 2 km long. Besides rain from its catchment, it stores water imported by pipes from the East River in China; the Bride's Pool flows into the Plover Cove Reservoir. The creation of the Plover Cove Reservoir necessitated the displacement of the inhabitants of a number of Hakka villages which were covered by the reservoir.
The Hakka villagers were compensated by the Hong Kong British colonial government with apartments and shop units along Kwong Fuk Road in Tai Po which were built for their resettlement there. Fisherman who used to live at the original Sam Mun Tsai site, close to Tai Kau of Luk Heung, now at the northeastern shore of Reservoir, were relocated to Sam Mun Tsai New Village on the island of Yim Tin Tsai in 1966. At the time, 36 families were moved to housing on land. Plover Cove Reservoir is a natural fish pond that supports a diverse wildlife, including many freshwater fish species. Tai Mei Tuk at the northwestern end of the main dam is a popular barbecue site in Hong Kong. Country parks and conservation in Hong Kong Reservoirs of Hong Kong Scott Wilson Group Water supply in Hong Kong Wong W. H. "Towards Urbanisation: Shuen Wan and Plover Cove Reservoir", Tai Po Book pp. 234–255 Berkowitz, Morris, "Plover Cove Village to Taipo Market: A Study in Forced Migration", Journal of Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol.
8, 1968, pp. 96–108 Video: relocation of the residents of Tai Kau Waterworks of a CenturyWaterworks of a Century Reservoirs in the eastern part of New Territories – in Chinese Plover Cove
Bride's Pool
Bride's Pool is a stream pool with several waterfalls in northeastern New Territories, Hong Kong near Tai Mei Tuk. Mirror Pool is located nearby. Legend has it that a bride was being carried in a sedan by four porters on her way to meet her groom in stormy weather; as they passed the pool, one of the porters slipped and the bride fell into the pool and drowned. Therefore, the pool was named Bride's Pool in memory of the bride. Bride's Pool is located in the North East Region of the New Territories in Plover Cove Country Park, it can be accessed either by public transport. By public transport take the MTR East Rail north from Kowloon into New Territories. Depart the train at Tai Po Market Station and board minibus 20C; the bus will terminate at either Wu Kau Tang depending on the route. On Sundays and public holidays, the Kowloon Motor Bus operates the route 275R from Tai Po Market Station to the Pool; the Bride's Pool Trail lies past Tai Mei Tuk and shortly before Wu Kau. If the bus terminates short of the Pool at Tai Mei Tuk, the pool can be accessed by taxi or a 2-3 hour hike.
Plover Cove Country Park
Cantonese
Cantonese is a variety of Chinese spoken in the city of Guangzhou and its surrounding area in Southeastern China. It is the traditional prestige variety and standard form of Yue Chinese, one of the major subgroups of Chinese. In mainland China, it is the lingua franca of the province of Guangdong and neighbouring areas such as Guangxi, it is the official language of Hong Kong and Macau. Cantonese is widely spoken amongst Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and throughout the Western world. While the term Cantonese refers to the prestige variety, it is used in a broader sense for the entire Yue subgroup of Chinese, including related but mutually unintelligible languages and dialects such as Taishanese; when Cantonese and the related Yuehai dialects are classified together, there are about 80 million total speakers. Cantonese is viewed as a vital and inseparable part of the cultural identity for its native speakers across large swaths of Southeastern China, Hong Kong and Macau, as well as in overseas communities.
Although Cantonese shares a lot of vocabulary with Mandarin, the two varieties are mutually unintelligible because of differences in pronunciation and lexicon. Sentence structure, in particular the placement of verbs, sometimes differs between the two varieties. A notable difference between Cantonese and Mandarin is; this results in the situation in which a Cantonese and a Mandarin text may look similar but are pronounced differently. In English, the term "Cantonese" can be ambiguous. Cantonese proper is the variety native to the city of Canton, the traditional English name of Guangzhou; this narrow sense may be specified as "Canton language" or "Guangzhou language". However, "Cantonese" may refer to the primary branch of Chinese that contains Cantonese proper as well as Taishanese and Gaoyang. In this article, "Cantonese" is used for Cantonese proper. Speakers called this variety "Canton speech" or "Guangzhou speech", although this term is now used outside Guangzhou. In Guangdong and Guangxi, people call it "provincial capital speech" or "plain speech".
Academically called "Canton prefecture speech". In Hong Kong and Macau, as well as among overseas Chinese communities, the language is referred to as "Guangdong speech" or "Canton Province speech", or as "Chinese". In mainland China, the term "Guangdong speech" is increasingly being used amongst both native and non-native speakers. Given the history of the development of the Yue languages and dialects during the Tang dynasty migrations to the region, in overseas Chinese communities, it is referred to as "Tang speech", given that the Cantonese people refer to themselves as "people of Tang". Due to its status as a prestige dialect among all the dialects of the Yue branch of Chinese varieties, it is called "Standard Cantonese"; the official languages of Hong Kong are English, as defined in the Hong Kong Basic Law. The Chinese language has many different varieties. Given the traditional predominance of Cantonese within Hong Kong, it is the de facto official spoken form of the Chinese language used in the Hong Kong Government and all courts and tribunals.
It is used as the medium of instruction in schools, alongside English. A similar situation exists in neighboring Macau, where Chinese is an official language alongside Portuguese; as in Hong Kong, Cantonese is the predominant spoken variety of Chinese used in everyday life and is thus the official form of Chinese used in the government. The Cantonese spoken in Hong Kong and Macau is mutually intelligible with the Cantonese spoken in the mainland city of Guangzhou, although there exist some minor differences in accent and vocabulary. Cantonese first developed around the port city of Guangzhou in the Pearl River Delta region of southeastern China. Due to the city's long standing as an important cultural center, Cantonese emerged as the prestige dialect of the Yue varieties of Chinese in the Southern Song dynasty and its usage spread around most of what is now the provinces of Guangdong and Guangxi. Despite the cession of Macau to Portugal in 1557 and Hong Kong to Britain in 1842, the ethnic Chinese population of the two territories originated from the 19th and 20th century immigration from Guangzhou and surrounding areas, making Cantonese the predominant Chinese language in the territories.
On the mainland, Cantonese continued to serve as the lingua franca of Guangdong and Guangxi provinces after Mandarin was made the official language of the government by the Qing dynasty in the early 1900s. Cantonese remained a dominant and influential language in southeastern China until the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949 and its promotion of Standard Chinese as the sole official language of the nation throughout the last half of the 20th century, although its influence still remains strong within the region. While the Chinese government vehemently discourages the official use of all forms of Chinese except Standard Chinese, Cantonese enjoys a higher standing than other Chinese langua
