Immigrate to Hong Kong and experience Hong Kong life: Walled villages are mostly located in the New Territories, and those living within them are often members of the same clan. Walled villages originated in the Ming Dynasty. Due to frequent coastal pirate raids, residents built low stone walls around their houses for self-defense, and even dug moats and installed iron gates. These villages surrounded by high walls are what we call "walled villages" today. Most residents of these villages are indigenous inhabitants of Hong Kong. In those years, to improve relations with the indigenous inhabitants, the colonial government established the Heung Yee Kuk. Its main responsibilities were to promote cooperation and understanding among New Territories residents; to serve as a communication bridge between the Hong Kong government and New Territories residents; to provide advice to the Hong Kong government on the social and economic development of the New Territories; to encourage the observance of traditional customs and habits of New Territories residents; and to perform functions invited by the Chief Executive of Hong Kong. This shows the government's respect for the indigenous inhabitants, and as a result, their influence and power were quite significant. In the early days, when society was not as civilized and progressive as it is today, there were local bullies and tyrants within the villages.
Each walled village has its own village head, ancestral hall, and village rules. Villagers can prohibit strangers and vehicles from entering the village at any time. It is said that in the early days, even police patrols were not necessarily allowed to enter. Most walled villages belong to the "Five Great Clans of the New Territories," including the Tang, Hau, Pang, Liu, and Man clans.
The Small House Policy is another privilege granted by the Hong Kong government to indigenous inhabitants. In the 1970s, the Hong Kong government planned to develop the New Territories. To gain the support of the indigenous inhabitants, it implemented the "Small House Policy," which stipulates that male indigenous Hong Kong residents aged 18 or older, whose patrilineal descent can be traced back to a recognized village in the New Territories in the 1890s, may apply once in their lifetime to build a Small House of up to 3 stories and no more than 700 square feet per floor within a recognized area, without paying a land premium to the government. Non-indigenous residents who grew up in the city do not enjoy this preferential treatment.
Walled villages still retain the traditional cultural custom of "distributing pork by the clan patriarch." Distributing pork signifies "food bestowed by ancestors." Usually, after the Spring and Autumn Ancestral Worship, namely the Qingming Festival and the Chung Yeung Festival, a pork distribution ceremony is held in front of the ancestral hall or ancestral grave. Traditionally, the clan leader or a respected elder in the village distributes pork to male descendants aged 60 and over and to male infants born in the previous year, symbolizing that the blessings and protection of the ancestors have been brought to each family. However, only males are eligible to receive it; if there are no males in the family, they cannot receive the pork. The custom of distributing pork highlights the male-dominated clan relationships and the traditional Chinese culture of valuing men over women. Therefore, distributing pork is a very important clan activity. Even men who have moved out of the walled village will try their best to return to the village to participate, symbolizing the unity of the clan and the maintenance of the family, which can enhance the cohesion and sense of belonging among clan members.
My first visit to a walled village was about twenty years ago, when I was invited to join a folk traditional culture conservation group led by the government. The first activity was to go to a walled village to taste Poon Choi. Poon Choi is a traditional food of the New Territories walled villages. After ceremonies such as seasonal sacrifices, weddings, and major festivals, the villagers would treat guests with Poon Choi, hoping that the guests would be well-fed and enjoy themselves to the fullest. It is a way of showing hospitality and is one of the traditional customs.
The ingredients for making Poon Choi are quite rich. There are generally ten basic ingredients, including radish, bean curd sticks, pork skin, squid, chicken, pork, shrimp, fish balls, shiitake mushrooms, and conger eel. The seasoning is mainly based on red fermented bean curd and soybean paste, and MSG is never used. In recent years, Poon Choi has become very popular. Without the need to travel all the way to the New Territories, many restaurants offer Poon Choi, especially during the Lunar New Year, for reunion dinners or the first meal of the year. Families gather around the basin to feast, searching for their favorite food like treasure hunting, and the atmosphere is particularly lively. Many high-end restaurants, in order to increase the value of Poon Choi, have switched to using expensive ingredients such as abalone and sea cucumber. Having eaten Poon Choi from different restaurants, I still reminisce about the most authentic flavor of the walled village Poon Choi that I ate with dozens of tables of people in an open-air space in the village back then.
