Changes of land use in Yuen Long since 1907

At the beginning of the 20th century, the land in Yuen Long was mainly used for agriculture, so the land use was mainly agriculture. At that time, Pingshan and Jintian in Yuen Long were the settlements of the Deng family, and Jintian was famous for its rich rice. Jintian, formerly known as Centian, is called Jintian because it is rich in rice. Other places in Yuen Long, such as Nanshengwei, Mai Po and Dajing, are fertile fields rich in rice. At that time, in addition to self-sufficiency in rice production, there were surplus grains that could be sold to other places. Besides, Yuen Long is close to the Pearl River Estuary, so it is economical and convenient to transport grain by water. Farming is the early social appearance of Yuen Long. In 1950s and 1960s, a large number of immigrants from China flooded into Hongkong, and the original self-sufficient agricultural production mode was insufficient. Therefore, China and Hong Kong allow Thai and Vietnamese rice to be exported to Hong Kong. Thailand produces more rice on the Mekong River, while Vietnam can produce four tons of rice a year because of its suitable climate and abundant water resources, so the rice price is much lower than that produced in China and Hongkong. Therefore, imported rice is even flatter than local rice, which directly impacts the rice planting industry in Yuen Long Plain, and some farmers give up farming. In order to take care of these unemployed farmers, China and Hongkong have made work permits for them to go to Britain. Therefore, many Yuen Long residents go to Britain and even Europe to work, mainly in the catering industry. At this time, some city residents moved to Yuen Long because of the pressure of life. Some of them will engage in agriculture and take over the land abandoned by the original farmers. Most of these immigrants are engaged in various industries such as vegetables, flowers, raising chickens and pigs. Of course, many people who have moved to the New Territories will still work in the urban areas, so the number of people receiving agriculture is limited, and the situation of land abandonment is increasing. Basically, most of the agricultural land in Nanshengwei, Dajing and Mai Po in Yuen Long has become barren. In 1980s, due to the regulation of chicken industry, mainly the application of estrogen, many chicken farms were difficult to operate. Later, due to river pollution, the Agriculture and Fisheries Department also controlled the pig and chicken industry. Because of the high cost of pollution prevention and control, many chicken farms and pig farms have closed down one after another, which has increased the situation of land abandonment. However, in the 1990s, due to the sharp rise in property prices and land prices, a large number of urban residents moved into the New Territories, and some agricultural land in the New Territories was converted into public housing. These areas, such as Tin Shui Wai, used to be fish ponds and agricultural land, but now they are all public housing. There are a lot of wasteland in Yuen Long, and there is a great demand for housing. Many indigenous residents have joined hands with developers to apply for converting agricultural land into residential use and building small houses. * * * Other community facilities should also be considered. As a result, many agricultural lands have been converted into other community facilities, such as Yuen Long Town Park. In addition, some people from the New Territories have applied for changing agricultural land in Yuen Long into other uses, such as container terminals, garages and waste yards. The vicinity of San Tin and fairview park in Yuen Long will become container yards, while the area around Hengtai Mountain in Pat Heung will become garages and waste yards. In addition, there are some changes in the use of unpopular, such as litchi villa in Datang and pudgy pear garden. There are many facilities to play, such as the barbecue grill in Yuen Long and Chiba House (located in Pingshan). There are also several wild battlefields, such as S-3 Datang Field, Yuen Long Public Security Training Ground and So Kwun Wat Field, all of which have been changed from farms to places for playing. I grew up in Yuen Long, where I moved in in the 1970s, but moved out in the 1990s because of my job. More than ten years have passed, and the changes in Yuen Long are really unexpected. I used to live in Yuen Long, but I always thought it was a community that would not change. Now it has developed, and a place that was once as quiet as stagnant water has really turned upside down.

Reference: I