!" #$%&'()*+,  !"#$%&'()*+,-. = !"#$%&'()*+,-" !"#$%&'()*+(),- !"#$ !"#$%  !"#$%&'()* !"#$%&'(')'*'+,  !"#$%&'()* !"#$%&'(&)*+, != !"#$%& !"#$%&%'( !"#$%&'()*+,-,+ !"#$%&'  !"# !"#$%#&' !"#$%&'()*+,-./0 !

!" #$%&'()*+,-. !"#$%&'()#*+,$- !"#$%&&'()*+,-. !"#$%&'()*+,#-. !"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"#$%&'()*+,&-. !"#$%&'()!*+,-. !"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"#$%&'()*+,-./0 !"#$%!"&'()*+ !"#$%&'()*+,- !"#$%&'()*+,-. !" !"# !"#$%&'%(&) News report, Wah Kiu Yat Po, 1957

NQN Section 2

Yuen Long Chapter 2

“ n order to accommodate city received electricity as early as development in the New 1931. In the beginning, electricity came from I Territories, the supply of water and to Yuen Long Market, though it electricity has been greatly improved. could only reach the major markets. Mr. Tai Fluorescent lamps have been installed from Kuen of Shap Rural Committee Yuen Long to Road. There is now tells how in the past, when there was no sufficient water for domestic and industrial electricity, the shops had to be illuminated use in the Castle Peak area.” This by kerosene lamps. There were still no !"#$%&'()*+,-./01"'() newspaper heading from the newspaper refrigerators, and so, in order to preserve The Au Tau Substation in Yuen Long in 1959 was the most important of its kind in the Wah Kiu Yat Po, dated 29 December 1957, meat, people had to put it in bamboo baskets western part of the demonstrates that Yuen Long was in the and hang them from the ceiling, or else they forefront of the Rural Electrification would use salt to preserve it. Before the war, Scheme in the New Territories. CLP had a power station in today’s (near the present Kentucky Fried Chicken [KFC] Restaurant). The ground floor was the power station and the upper floors were residences. Mr. Tai still remembers that when electricity supply came to his house, the whole family was so happy. However, his mother did not want to pay too much for it. In order to limit the use of electricity, the bulbs his family used were only 10-15W.

NQO

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======

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NQP ocal philanthropists founded in 1919 and it began

Section 2 Lto offer Western medical services in 1950. Mr. Tsang Yuen Hung of the Hospital believes that this was a landmark in the development of the region. In the past only Chinese medicine was practised. Nowadays the medical services combine

Chapter 2 both Western and Chinese methods and are free of charge. As for the new services, the electricity supply obviously played an important role.

For the food and drink industry and for commercial activities, Yuen Long has been !"#$%&'()*+ famous for its “three treasures”: rice, goby Parade at Castle Peak Road, Yuen Long, 1979 mullet and oysters. These three things attracted many tourists to Yuen Long from the urban areas on holidays. As already mentioned, when electricity reached Lau Fau Shan in the early 1960s, business was very good and the shops were illuminated every night. Mr. Tang Chi Cheung of Rural Committee still remembers how there was no air-conditioning in the famous Yue Wo Tong at the beginning. They had to remove some electric fans from an old ship and install them in Yue Wo Tong. These old fans still functioned and were very useful at that time.

!"#$%&'()*+ Advertisement of Yue Wo Tong, 1965

NQQ

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!"#$%&'() !"#$%&'() Hang Heung Restaurant, Yuen Long, 1950 !"#$%&'(#=E !" F !"#$%&'( !"#$%&'() !"#$%&' !"#$%&'() !"#$%& !"#$

NQR nother famous product of Yuen Long is the “wife cakes” of

Section 2 AHang Heung Cake Shop. Mr. Cheng Hung Kit remembers when the shop was opened in 1926, it was originally a restaurant. In those days a restaurant had to serve meals, tea, and also make cakes. Cakes were made for weddings and for the

Chapter 2 Mid-Autumn Festival. Usually the dim-sum cooks made the cakes. Since the elderly owner was rather thrifty, the restaurant hired very few workers. When many people came for meals, they had to wait a long time. When they began to get hungry, the restaurant provided them with some “wife cakes.” People found the cakes so tasty and hence the fame of these cakes was established.

In the early times the cakes were made in a brick oven, heated by burning wood. The amount of cakes made depended on the number of orders. When his father passed away, Mr. Cheng decided to use electric ovens. At first, they used 4-cable electricity with only 25A. But this supply of electricity was not sufficient for installing air- conditioners. Later, technicians helped upgrade the current to 100A to fit the needs. The electric ovens also evolved from drawer ovens to tunnel ovens. This not only improved the efficiency, but also met with hygiene standards.

!"#$%&'( Celebrities of Yuen Long, 1940

NQS

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NQT lectricity brought new products, and improvements to local

Section 2 E products.

Apart from the food and drink industry, the entertainment business also benefited from having a sufficient supply of electricity.

Chapter 2 According to newspaper reports in the late 1950s, Ping Shan, the then centre for new farms in the New Territories, had a population of over 20,000. Ordinary farmers were busy in the daytime and they could only have leisure time at night to go to movies in Yuen Long, to dine at restaurants, or to find other means of entertainment. But the bus service stopped at 10 pm and they had to go by bicycle or on foot. This was very inconvenient, since there were no street lamps along the road. Then CLP installed new fluorescent lamps, thus linking Yuen Long and Ping Shan, and made people’s lives more agreeable.

In the early 1960s a large entertainment place named Tung Lok Theatre was built at . This illustrates how people’s cultural lives were also enriched. The development of Yuen Long really went ahead very rapidly.

!"#$%&'!"()*+, -. helped the development of Yuen Long and Ping Shan

NQU

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====== !"#$%&'()*+,-./ ! ! !"#$%&'()*+,-. ! ! ! " " ! " " # !"#$%&'()*+,-./ " ! # # " " # $ # $ $ !"# # $ % % ! $ % % % $ & & " & & ' & % ' ' # & ( $ ' ( ' ' ( ) % ( ( ) ) ( * & ) + * ) * ) ' * * , ( + + * + + + - , , , - , NQV n Yuen Long the process of rural At first the rural people were conservative electrification had many stories about the use of electricity. Mr. Man Ping

Section 2 I attached to it. Mr. Tang Shing Shi of Nam of Rural Committee Ping Shan remembers, in the time before remembers how at the beginning CLP sent electricity how wealthy people used electric officers to enter the village and introduce torches at night, while the poor would the use of electricity. The poor would come encounter snakes when going out at night to see the electric lamps installed in rich without any kind of light. This was really people’s houses before they decided to

Chapter 2 dangerous. install their own. In 1963 Mr. Man came back to Hong Kong from Britain. Starting from that time, his home had installed a German After the installation of electric lamps, black and white television set. Neighbours people’s habit of going to bed early also all came to watch television. At that time changed. When they started going to bed people’s favourite programme was later, an interesting thing began to happen: wrestling. This showed how the relationships the electric lamps attracted many among rural people were very good. “osmanthus cicada.” (nicknamed “wo mei lung”, a kind of flying insect). These tiny creatures would fly around the lamps and then fall down or fly off to another lamp. People saw this and would wait every night to collect them and then eat them deep- fried. They were so delicious that people would even wait up until 11 pm or midnight. Because of this kind of activities, drivers had to be careful, since quite a few people would wait under the lamp posts on the road sides at night.

!"#$%&'()*+,-. The development of Shap Pat Heung, Yuen Long, was helped by an expanded electricity supply

NRM

!"#$%&'()*  !"#$%&'()* !"#$%&'()* !"#$%&'()*+,-./  !"#$%"&'$()*+,-./  !"#$%&'()*+,-./  !"#$%&'()*+,-.% !"#$%&'()*+,-./0 !"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"# !"#$%&'()% !"#$%&'() Yuen Long Soccer Team won !"#$%&'()*+,-./0 the FA cup, Sir David Akers- Jones congratulating the team !"#$%&'()(*+,-. members, 1979 !"#$%&'()*$+, !"#$%&'()*+,-./%0 !"#$%&'()*+(,-. !"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"#$%&'()*+,-./ !"#$%&'()

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!"#$%&' !"#$%&=E !F A 1988 football match held by Sports Association NRN his spirit of mutual aid was also

evident when power supply Section 2 T reached the place. The family of Mr. Tang Kwan Shing of Ha Tsuen Rural Committee was the first to apply for electricity in his village. After that the other residents of the village followed. Since the Tang family had paid for the pole fee when

Chapter 2 it was constructed, the neighbours had no need to pay more and could apply for their own electricity supply. At first the Tangs were reluctant to accept this because they had paid a great deal for the construction fee. However, based on the rural sense of sharing, the Tangs decided not to make it an issue.

The villagers called the poles “tung”. Mr. Tsang Ma Ming of Yuen Long Sports Association recalls the scene when CLP distributed electricity to his village: At the beginning CLP wanted to erect posts in !"#$%&'()*+,-./$0123 farmland. The rural people worried that Shui Tau Village at received its power supply in the 1960s they would damage the feng-shui of the village and disagreed with this. But later During the course of their they agreed to let CLP do so after planning and erection, there was considerable argument negotiations among villagers. In the rural over the placing of the huge areas, these poles provided a place for towers in variousillagers parts wanted of the children to play. One of the children’s games countryside. V their “pound of flesh” when was to climb up the poles. Electricity not these substantial steel only brought convenience to the villagers, structures had to be erected on it also brought new interests. concerns private instead of crown land, and there were further environmentalists among about siting them iny prominentparks. The epresenting positions eein countrKuk, r Heung Y the villagers, was closely involved in the negotiations. —Sir David Akers-Jones NRO