Yim Tin Tsai
Arts and culture village (Half-day course)
Yim Tin Tsai is a 300- year- old Sai Kung Hakka settlement, which was once
home to more than 200 villagers from over 40 households. When the last family
moved out in the 90's, it was deserted until indigenous villager Chan Chung-yin
returned from Britain and was elected village head in 1999. Chan has been
working hard to revitalise Yim Tin Tsai since then. On weekends, the island
receives a lot of visitors, who are interested mainly in visiting the renovated St
Joseph's Chapel, built in 1890, and tasting homemade Hakka dishes.
Yim Tin Tsai is one of very few Hakka villages in Hong Kong with a Catholic heritage, including
St Joseph's Chapel and the
former residence of Rev. Dominic Chan Chi-ming, Vicar General of the Hong Kong Catholic Diocese.
Village head Chan Chung-yin
has been actively promoting the restoration of Yim Tin Tsai. Chan said, "We really hope to
preserve Yim Tin Tsai's unique
setting, where religion, culture, tourism, ecology and leisure come together." Most of the Hakka
houses were built in the
1950's and 1960's. Surrounded by trees, the houses back onto verdant hills. Natural light and
ventilation help maintain a comfortable and natural living environment.
A round-island walk will take you to St Joseph's Chapel, Hakka village houses, an exhibition centre, the Yuk Tai Bridge and mangrove beds, before arriving at another major highlight of the trip: salt pans. Village head Chan Chung-yin said, "The salt pans looked after the villagers' domestic needs and provided a source of income in the early years, but the operation ended probably in 1920. We successfully revived the salt pans a few years ago." The chapel and the restored salt pans received Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards in 2005 and 2016, respectively.
