Guest Post by Gary Yeung in Hong Kong
It was a fine afternoon at Sheung Yiu Folk Museum with a band of merry urban sketchers!
From left to right, the sketch illustrates the entrance guard tower to the fortified Hakka village, a typical hat to be worn to fend off the sun while working in the paddy field, eating utensils such as bowls, cups and a teapot, a wooden machine for working on the harvested rice, a wooden bucket, rattan basket, large pot and finally on the right the inner courtyard as viewed from the entrance guard tower.
Origin of Hakka
Hakka people are a subgroup of Han Chinese. The name Hakka literally means "guests", which implies they came and settled in places which were already populated. Certain groups of Hakka communities settled in Hong Kong a long time ago and established many villages. Hakka's architecture emphasises defence due to their agrarian lifestyle. The village I sketched here is an example of a small fortified Hakka village. To enter the village, visitors must walk up a flight of steps before entering the guard tower entrance which is on one end of the elongated village. Walking through and out of the guard tower, visitors will see a large rectangular courtyard which sits on a raised terrace while one single row of houses are built on the right with every door facing the courtyard.
The Fate of Sheung Yiu Hakka Village
The Sheung Yiu Hakka Village was established by a clan surnamed Wong around 150 years ago. It became prosperous because of the lime the clan produced from its lime kiln, which was used in construction and as fertiliser. However, their prosperity declined soon after the modern bricks and cement came into the market. The village people gradually moved to urban areas to seek better jobs or moved overseas and by 1968 the village was fully abandoned and left to deteriorate. Fortunately, in 1983, the village was fully restored and turned into a museum by the Hong Kong Government.
Gary Yeung is a local-born Hongkonger who loves every aspect of his city state. He is one of the founders of Urban Sketchers Hong Kong and when not urban sketching, you'll find him in the studio creating oil and acrylic paintings. For more of Gary's work visit his blog or flickr.
It was a fine afternoon at Sheung Yiu Folk Museum with a band of merry urban sketchers!
From left to right, the sketch illustrates the entrance guard tower to the fortified Hakka village, a typical hat to be worn to fend off the sun while working in the paddy field, eating utensils such as bowls, cups and a teapot, a wooden machine for working on the harvested rice, a wooden bucket, rattan basket, large pot and finally on the right the inner courtyard as viewed from the entrance guard tower.
Origin of Hakka
Hakka people are a subgroup of Han Chinese. The name Hakka literally means "guests", which implies they came and settled in places which were already populated. Certain groups of Hakka communities settled in Hong Kong a long time ago and established many villages. Hakka's architecture emphasises defence due to their agrarian lifestyle. The village I sketched here is an example of a small fortified Hakka village. To enter the village, visitors must walk up a flight of steps before entering the guard tower entrance which is on one end of the elongated village. Walking through and out of the guard tower, visitors will see a large rectangular courtyard which sits on a raised terrace while one single row of houses are built on the right with every door facing the courtyard.
The Fate of Sheung Yiu Hakka Village
The Sheung Yiu Hakka Village was established by a clan surnamed Wong around 150 years ago. It became prosperous because of the lime the clan produced from its lime kiln, which was used in construction and as fertiliser. However, their prosperity declined soon after the modern bricks and cement came into the market. The village people gradually moved to urban areas to seek better jobs or moved overseas and by 1968 the village was fully abandoned and left to deteriorate. Fortunately, in 1983, the village was fully restored and turned into a museum by the Hong Kong Government.
Gary Yeung is a local-born Hongkonger who loves every aspect of his city state. He is one of the founders of Urban Sketchers Hong Kong and when not urban sketching, you'll find him in the studio creating oil and acrylic paintings. For more of Gary's work visit his blog or flickr.
