Fo Tan

Fo Tan (Chinese: 火炭) is an area of Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. It was developed as a light industrial area, but this activity has declined markedly in recent years. There are residential areas to the east, alongside the MTR line, and in the foothills to the west.

Fo Tan
View of Fo Tan
Chinese火炭
Literal meaningfire charcoal
Sui Fai Factory Estate (穗輝工廠大廈) in Fo Tan.
Fo Tan Nullah.
The Palazzo and Fo Tan Railway House, next to Fo Tan Station.

Etymology

Fo Tan is located around a river, the Fo Tan Nullah. Historically, a beach was revealed when the water receded. The area thus became known as "river beach" (Chinese: 河灘). In Hakka, this was pronounced "Fo Tan". It was later mistakenly called "Fire Beach" (Chinese: 火灘) due to similarities in pronunciation. This has further changed into "Fire Charcoal" (Chinese: 火炭) which is in current use, again due to similarities in pronunciation.

Location

North East South West To the south is Sha Tin New Town, with the small community of Wo Che in between. To the north is Kau To and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Nearby to the east is Sha Tin Racecourse while across the Shing Mun River is City One Shatin.

Artistic community

Since 2001, as most industrial businesses have closed and moved to mainland China, more than 70 units in the utilitarian industrial blocks have reopened as artists' studios, creating a vibrant if well hidden local arts scene. Every January, a festival, Fotanian - Open Studio Programme, sees many of the studios open to the public. Guided walks lead visitors to these normally private working studios, which encompass a wide range of media and styles.[1] Fo Tan was chosen for artist spaces because the ceilings of the buildings are high and because it is in the middle of the New Territories.[2]

Housing
Cheng Ancestral Hall in Fo Tan Village.
Dai pai dong and industrial buildings in Fo Tan.

Public housing estates

Private housing estates

Private housing estates in Fo Tan include:

Villages

There are originally 24 Hakka villages in Fo Tan including:

Economy
Entrance of Fo Tan Station.
Shan Mei Street Public Transport Interchange, Fo Tan.

A.S. Watson Group has its head office in the Watson House (Chinese: 屈臣氏中心) in Fo Tan.[3][4]

Education

Transportation
  • Fo Tan Station on the East Rail Line
  • Buses and minibuses
  • taxis

See also

References
  1. Fotan art district grows in Hong Kong’s industrial area - Art Radar Asia
  2. Batten, John (2013-07-11). "Creative forces: Kitty Ko's artwork is motivated by everyday things". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
  3. "Contact Us Archived 2012-09-10 at the Wayback Machine." A.S. Watson Group. Retrieved on 25 October 2012. "Watson House, 1-5 Wo Liu Hang Road, Fo Tan, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong"
  4. "聯絡我們 Archived 2012-09-10 at the Wayback Machine." A.S. Watson Group. Retrieved on 25 October 2012. "香港新界火炭禾寮坑路1-5 號屈臣氏中心"

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