Hong Kong Photo Gallery - Ping Yeung

Located in the remote northern reaches of Hong Kong, Ping Yeung is a typical example of a quiet rural village. However, it was threatened with demolition from the government in 2008 to build a new town, and villagers responded in 2013 by painting murals on their buildings and roads and boosting the village's visibility. Inspired by a similar mural village in Taichung, where a temporary settlement for army veterans was threathened with demolition, Ping Yeung is still quite difficult to access but more are making the trip deep into the rural New Territories. Plans for the new town were postponed in 2013 but were again revived on an even grander scale in 2018, housing an expected population of 350,000 people and taking over 20 years to complete. During the winter, tall grasses bloom in the empty fields around the village. Shimmering against the late afternoon light, it is one more attraction in the area that has brought crowds into the otherwise quiet village. Minibuses from Fanling reach the area but it is much more convenient to drive now that a new highway has opened to the Heung Yuen Wai border crossing nearby. While in the area, drive a bit further down towards the highway barrier to find these very old trees magnificently spread out behind a few houses.