大嶼山文化故事

According to The Gazetteer of Xin'an County (1819), Xin'an County (now the Shenzhen and Hong Kong areas) had a number of vessels, such as changxingdu (long-distance ferries) and hengshuidu (hand-pulled ferries), for which levies were required. The changxingdu connected the townships of Xin'an County and Dongguan County, and Xin'an County and the provincial capital Guangzhou through waterways. The hengshuidu travelled within a county by crossing a river or a short distance on the sea.

On Lantau Island, there were two hengshuidu that went to Pak Mong: the "Tuen Mun Ferry", connecting Pak Mong and Tuen Mun, and the "Pak Mong Ferry", connecting Pak Mong and Yuen Long. Pak Mong is on the north shore of Lantau Island, with Tung Chung to the southwest, and Ngau Kwu Long, Tai Ho, and so forth, to the southeast. The two ferries reflected the population and economic activity in Pak Mong and its surrounding villages at the time. Though the villages were basically self-sufficient, the villagers travelled to other areas to visit markets, trade and socialise. North of Pak Mong is Tuen Mun, which in the middle of the Qing dynasty comprised a number of villages. Yuen Long, adjacent to Tuen Mun, had a number of hui (markets). Tuen Mun and Yuen Long were both very prosperous at that time. Tuen Mun did not have the reclaimed land more than 200 years ago we see today. The Yuen Long area was surrounded by waterways, and a number of hui could be reached by water. The "Tuen Mun Ferry" and "Pak Mong Ferry" allowed the villagers of Lantau Island, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long to trade farm produce and other goods. Because of the hengshuidu, Pak Mong became an important transportation point for villages east and north of Lantau Island in the early years.

Today, with the development of Lantau Island, there are many ways to reach the island by both land and sea.