Tin Shui Wai New Town 天水圍新市鎮 | |
|---|---|
 Tin Shui Wai Sports Ground | |
  Tin Shui Wai New Town Location of Tin Shui Wai in Hong Kong | |
| Coordinates:22°27′36″N114°00′07″E / 22.460°N 114.002°E /22.460; 114.002 | |
| Country | China |
| SAR | Hong Kong |
| District | Yuen Long District |
| Established | 1993; 33 years ago (1993)[clarification needed] |
| Area | |
• Total | 4.3 km2 (1.7 sq mi) |
| Population (2016) | |
• Total | 286,232[1] |
| • Density | 67,906/km2 (175,880/sq mi) |
| Website | Yuen Long District Council |
| Mean solar time UTC+08 | |
| Tin Shui Wai New Town | |||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 天水圍新市鎮 | ||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 天水围新市镇 | ||||||||||||||
| CantoneseYale | Tīnséuiwài Sānsíhjan | ||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Sky Water Walled Village New Town | ||||||||||||||
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Tin Shui Wai New Town is asatellite town in the northwesternNew Territories ofHong Kong. Originally agei wai [yue] (基圍) fish pond area, it was developed inthe 1980s as the secondnew town inYuen Long District and the eighth in Hong Kong. It is 25 kilometres (16 mi) due northwest ofCentral, the main business area in the territory, on land reclaimed from low-lying areas south ofDeep Bay, next toPing Shan. The population was 283,595 as of 2021.[2]
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The land on which Tin Shui Wai was built did not exist at the beginning of the 1900s, while the adjacentPing Shan was by the sea. The water north of Ping Shan gradually turned tomarshes and villagers converted them intopools andrice paddies. The pools becamegei wai fish ponds where most of the residents were fishermen before the new town was developed. With the decline inaquaculture, most of the fish ponds were abandoned. TheHong Kong Government developed the area into a new town throughland reclamation.
The new town, conceived in 1987 to house 140,000 people, was constructed on 2.4 square kilometres (590 acres) ofreclaimed fishponds and wetland representing one quarter of the flat land in the New Territories.[3] The process of land reclamation for the new town was completed in 1990.[4] Formation of the 2.4 km2 was estimated to cost HK$820 million in a contract signed with a Chinese joint-venture company.[which?] 20 million cubic metres (706.29 million cubic feet) of material would be required for thelandfill. Maximum possible land formation was 4.88 km2.[5]
The government was accused by the developers of stalling the release of land for political reasons. Tin Shui Wai Development, a company 51% owned byChina Resources and 49% byCheung Kong Holdings, sued the government for damages caused by delays in handing over 388,000 m2 of land for development originally promised for 1985. The land was eventually handed over in May 1989.[3]
The first occupants moved into the new town in 1991.[5] The Housing Authority launched 6,459Home Ownership Scheme flats in the area at steep discounts to an adjacent private estate and attracted some 90,000 applications.[6]
A new modular style of construction for thepublic housing estates allowed rapid development and, in a first for a new town, on 26 March 1993 Tin Shui Wai was officially opened byGovernorChris Patten. By that time, some 30,000 people were living there.[4]
The Development Zone of 220 hectares, in the southern part of the new town, has been developed to house about 200,000 people. AnLRT (Light Rail Transit) line [yue;zh-tw] and new roads linking the town to the trunk road network provide good connections to theYuen Long andTuen Mun districts and to the urban areas beyond.[citation needed]
Further expansion of the new town into the remaining areas to the north, known as the Reserve Zone, with an area of 210 hectares, commenced in July 1998. The infrastructure was completed in stages from 2000 to 2004 to cope with population intake of the housing developments.[citation needed]
In the early 2000's, Tin Shui Wai developed a notorious reputation as a "city of sadness".[7][8][9] The town was criticized for its cramped public housing, isolation, and lack of employment opportunities.[7] On 25 November 2007, numerous residents rallied outside government headquarters to push for more aid and reform for the area. Many demanded the government to create new hospitals, jobs, and increase police enforcement in the town.[10]
West Rail and the extension of the LRT service to the Reserve Zone were commissioned in late 2003. To the northeastern portion of the new town, aconstructed wetland has been completed which serves as a buffer between the developments in the Reserve Zone and theMai Po Nature Reserve. The wetland has been further developed into theHong Kong Wetland Park, opening to public in May 2006. The total planned population of Tin Shui Wai is about 306,000 while the current population is about 292,000.[11]
Parts of Tin Shui Wai have a picturesque and tranquil environment. TheHong Kong Wetland Park, demonstrating the diversity of the Hong Kong'swetland ecosystem, is in north Tin Shui Wai.
Tin Shui Wai consists ofpublic andprivate housing estates. Tin Wah Road separates the south and the north development zones. The south development zone first started in the early 1990s and has since become a unique community. Since Tin Shui Wai was planned and developed from scratch, locals enjoy wider walkways and larger open areas when compared to other urban developments in Hong Kong.
Following the completion of the north development zone, the government planned to build 85,000 units and apartments annually in Hong Kong after 1997. As such, the north development zone has residential apartment buildings that are generally taller and denser than those in the south zone. The population of Tin Shui Wai rose rapidly over the last part of the century but has since stabilised. The government has been criticised for maintaining an insufficient level of services and facilities to meet the rapid population growth.
The new town is centred on theTin Shui Wai Park, which offers many gardens and activities.
TheTin Sau Bazaar is a marketplace in the northern part of the town managed by the charity organisationTung Wah Group of Hospitals.
Parts of Tin Shui Wai have a picturesque and tranquil environment. TheHong Kong Wetland Park, demonstrating the diversity of Hong Kong'swetland ecosystem, is located in Tin Shui Wai.
The light rail routes 705 and 706 stop atWetland Park stop.
Tin Shui Wai has two public libraries.Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Public Library is in the south, directly beside the railway station. It opened in 2013 and is the second-largest public library in Hong Kong, behind theHong Kong Central Library.[12] Tin Shui Wai North Public Library is small, at Tin Chak Estate in the north of the town.
The town has threepublic swimming pools: the Tin Shui Wai Swimming Pool (opened 1994), the Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Swimming Pool (opened 2011) and the Tin Sau Road Swimming Pool (opened 2025). Since the opening of the new pool, the facilities are no longer overcrowded.
The largest sports ground is theTin Shui Wai Sports Ground, a stadium with a capacity of 2,500 spectators. It also has a 400-metre running track. There are other football and rugby pitches at Tin Sau Road Park and Tin Yip Road Park in the northern part of the town.
There are four indoor sports centres in Tin Shui Wai. They are Tin Shui Wai Sports Centre, Tin Shui Sports Centre, Tin Fai Sports Centre and Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Sports Centre. There is an outdoor sports area in Tin Sau Road for volleyball, basketball and football court.
After years of planning, theTin Shui Wai Hospital opened in January 2017. The hospital's Accident and Emergency Department opened in March 2017 on a part-time basis.[13] Smaller public medical facilities include the Tin Shui Wai Health Centre and the Tin Shui Wai (Tin Yip Road) Community Health Centre, in the south and north of the town respectively.[14]
The main residences of Tin Shui Wai are thepublic housing estates , the 58 residential blocks ofKingswood Villas and Wetland Seasons Park and Bay.
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Tin Shui Wai is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 72. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money) and one government school: Tin Shui Wai Government Primary School (天水圍官立小學).[15]
Schools in Tin Shui Wai:
Hong Kong Public Libraries operates the Tin Shui Wai North Public Library in theTin Chak Estate,[16] and the Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Public Library in the Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Leisure and Cultural Building.[17]
The town is served byTin Shui Wai station on theTuen Ma line. The station borders the south of the town, nearPing Shan, and is adjacent to Tin Yiu Estate, Tin Shing Court and Tin Yau Court. It is elevated over the junction of Ping Ha Road and Tin Fuk Road. Many bus stops serve the station. Three footbridges are constructed along Tin Fuk Road and Ping Ha Road to connect the station to the town.
The Tuen Ma line directly connects Tin Shui Wai to the neighbouring new towns of Tuen Mun and Yuen Long, as well asTsuen Wan ,Kowloon and East New Territories via the 5.5 kilometreTai Lam Tunnel.
The entrances/exits of the station are:
The district is also served by theLight Rail, with Tin Shui Wai station serving as the main interchange point for the local branch of this network, which runs in a circle around the new town, called Tin Shui Wai Circular. The light rail network, in conjunction with theTuen Ma line, connects the townships ofTuen Mun andYuen Long. The light rail is divided into fare zones 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 5A. All of Tin Shui Wai's 16 light rail stops fall in zones 4 and 5A.
TheTin Shui Wai stop of theLight Rail network belongs to Zone 4 for single-ride ticket. It is underneath the Tuen Ma line station at ground level. Platforms 1, 2 and 3 can be reached by escalators at West Rail exits E1, E2 and E3, respectively.
| Route | Destination | Tin Shui Wai station platform |
|---|---|---|
| 705 | Tin Shui Wai Circular (Anti-clockwise) | 1 |
| 706 | Tin Shui Wai Circular (Clockwise) | 3 |
| 751 | Yau Oi | 3 |
| 751 | Tin Yat | 2 |
A well-developedbus network is an important transport element in Tin Shui Wai, with buses running to most major destinations in Hong Kong.
Main roads connecting the township to surrounding areas are Ping Ha Road, Tin Ha Road, Long Tin Road,Yuen Long Highway and Tin Wah Road (toLau Fau Shan).
Two 2008 Hong Kong films were set in Tin Shui Wai:The Way We Are, directed byAnn Hui andBesieged City directed byLawrence Ah Mon. The 2009 Ann Hui filmNight and Fog is also set there.
A 2020 Cantonese hip-hop song 'Tin Shui Wai Gang Gang' by TomFatKi and Billy Choi had 5 million views on Youtube. They performed a clean version at Chill Club Awards onViuTV in 2022.[18]
A 2020 Hong Kong dramaWe are the Littles byViuTV starringStephy Tang,Zeno Koo,Ian Chan andAnson Lo was set in Tin Shui Wai.[19]
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