Tai A Chau
| 大鴉洲 | |
|---|---|
| Geography | |
| Location | 4.5 km south of Lantau Island |
| Coordinates | 22°9′41″N 113°54′30″E / 22.16139°N 113.90833°ECoordinates: 22°9′41″N 113°54′30″E / 22.16139°N 113.90833°E |
| Area | 1.2 km2 (0.46 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 154 m (505 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
| Tai A Chau | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 大鴉洲 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||
Tai A Chau (Chinese: 大鴉洲) is an uninhabited island of Hong Kong, part of the Soko Islands group, located south of Lantau Island. It is referred to as South Soko Island in some media articles.
Geography
With an area of 1.2 km², Tai A Chau is the largest of the Soko Islands. It is located 4.5 km to the south of Lantau Island and about 2 km north of the boundary of the Hong Kong territorial waters.[1] The island has small hills with heights ranging from 85m to 154m. Its coastline is mainly steeply sloped and rocky in nature.[1]
History
There were historically two villages on the island: Ha Tsuen and Sheung Tsuen on the west and south sides of the island. The villagers left in the 1980s, when a detention camp for Vietnamese refugees was built.[1] In 1937, Walter Schofield, then a Cadet Officer in the Hong Kong Civil Service, wrote "There is a shrimp paste factory here which exports to Europe and America".[2] Tai A Chau Detention Centre was home to thousands of Vietnamese refugees from 1991 to 1996. The centre was closed prior to the handover in 1997 and all the building structures were demolished.[1]
Features
The island has a temple dedicated to Tin Hau and seven earth shrines.[3]
Two helicopter landing pads and a small jetty remain from the island's former detention centre.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Islands District Council. Paper No. IDC 107/2008. Draft South Soko Island Outline Zoning Plan No. S/I-SSI/E
- ↑ W. Schofield: "The islands around Hong Kong (text of a talk given in 1937)", from Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch, Vol. 23, 1983
- ↑ Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Receiving Terminal and Associated Facilities. EIA Report. Section 12 Cultural Heritage Assessment. December 22, 2006
External links
- Photographs of the Tai A Chau Tin Hau Temple
- Location Plan of Identified Cultural Heritage Resources on Tai A Chau
- More details about Tai A Chau. From EIA-125/2006. Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Receiving Terminal and Associated Facilities
- Aerial Photo of Tai A Chau in 1989, showing the Detention Centre.