History research team receives funding for Shek Pik Village study

A research team led by Professor Chung Po-yin, Professor of the Department of History, has been granted HK$2.5 million by the Lantau Conservation Fund to conduct a three-year research study entitled “Legend of Shek Pik - Lantau Stories under Water Project”. The project will revisit the heritage of the four villages situated by Shek Pik Reservoir, which have a history of hundreds of years. 

The Shek Pik Reservoir was built on the original site of Shek Pik Village, which comprised four smaller villages with a total population of more than 250 villagers: Shek Pik Tai Tsuen, Fan Pui Tsuen, Kong Pui Tsuen and Hang Tsai Tsuen. According to document records, Shek Pik Village has a history of more than 600 years, and it is one of the oldest villages on Lantau Island. Due to the Government’s construction work for the reservoir between 1957 and 1963, its residents were relocated and their dwellings became the Shek Pik Reservoir.
 
In this research project, the team will collect document records, historical photos, images, aerial maps, survey maps and oral histories of Shek Pik Village. Photogrammetry and heritage information modelling will be used to scan the ruins of the old Shek Pik Village and make 3D computer models to respectively revisit the outlook, culture and history.

Co-investigators of the research study include registered architects Mr Tony Chung and Miss Corrin Chan, as well as Dr Rebecca Robinson, Assistant Professor, and Dr Kwok Kam-chau, Lecturer of the Department of History. Professor Clara Ho, Head of the Department, is the project’s Academic Advisor.