Tai Hom Village

The first villager on record was Chu Yan Fung (朱仁鳳), a Hakka person who began to live in the village around 1740. According to Siu Kwok Kin (蕭國健), a history professor in Chu Hai College of Higher Education, the pedigree book of the Zhu family recorded their immigration into the village in 1740; Tai Hom was the nickname of the village at that time – the district being officially named Fei Ngo Shan (飛蛾山). Chu Yan Fung purchased the land from the Qing government, and settled there. The district was famous for granite, a favourable building material at the time. In 1936, the Hong Kong government attempted to reclaim the land rights to the district. The village became government land, except for 20% of privately owned land. an increase in population the village became home for more low-income people. The modern Tai Hom Squatter Village was not located on the original site. It was located in Nga Yiu Tau Chuen (瓦窯頭村), part of which was the site of Kai Tak Airport during Japanese sovereignty. ==Living conditions of the village during its existence==

Hygiene According to the report by the Neighbourhood Advice-Action Council (NAAC) et al. in 1984 and 1985 the hygienic condition of Tai Hom Village was unfavourable. Major problems included accumulation of untreated garbage, By his description, there were an excessive number of cats in the village, and the reason was rat infestation – cats accumulated to prey on the rats. Amenities Amenities covered include public toilets, recreational facilities, transportation, electricity and water supplies, education, fire prevention system and social order. Public toilets According to a report from the Student Press, the Students' Union of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Tai Hom Village had no public toilet before 1999. but no other government recreational facilities has been discovered in our research so far. NAAC did make suggestions to the government, including redeveloping the burnt area (due to fire hazard) into a recreational area. Water supply There were no independent water supplies at least before 1961. Daguan Motion Pictures () entered the village, leading to the immigration of a lot of celebrities and high-income citizens. Bao Fang (鮑方), Roy Chiao, Nancy Sit, Andy Lau. Other industries also thrived; factories were established in the village. In 1949, immigrants from mainland flooded into Hong Kong, and Tai Hom Village became home for higher-income immigrants (lower-income immigrants lived in Shek Kip Mei or Kowloon Tsai. They build stone houses for accommodation. Due to its propriety, the village was dubbed as "Small Kowloon Tong"(小九龍塘). However, after 1960, the rapid increase in population crammed the village. Due to the government policy, the village gradually became home for more low-income people. The film companies in the village were demolished in the 1980s. The economy began to deteriorate. Restaurants and stores still remained in existence before the final demolition, most of them on Sun Hing Road (新興路). ==Demolition of the village==

On 25 August 1998, the Housing Department announced the demolition of Tai Hom Village, which was proposed to take place from 14 November 2000 to the end of December 2000 and divided into eight phases. Then, the vacant land would be used for Public Development, such as construction of a new "Environmental Public Housing Estate" to supply living areas for some 10,000 people. Reallocation of residents of the village was arranged by the government. Public housing renting quota was pre-assigned to 880 households for moving into Tsz Ching Estate in Tsz Wan Shan which was under construction at that time; 790 households were reallocated to Kwai Shing East Estate, Shek Lei Estate and Po Tin Estate; and the remaining residents chose to apply to join the subsidised Home Ownership Scheme. Table 1: Policy Adopted by the Government for Reallocation of the Squatter Village Residents There had been a lot of protests from the locals since the announcement of demolition of Tai Hom Village. The squatter residents requested "reallocation within the same district" and "relaxation of squatter census" from the government; however, the Housing Department refused their appeal and maintained its existing policy. The government took action on 13, 16 and 20 February and 2 March 2001, driving away the residents and dismantling the squatter village. In face of intense opposition from the residents, the Housing Department took such hard-line approaches as breaking doors or walls and cutting electricity to force people to leave. ==Heritage sites==

There are currently three remaining historical structures in Tai Hom Village, namely the Stone House (石寓), the Former Royal Air Force Hangar (前皇家空軍飛機庫) and the Old Pillbox (機槍堡). They are dubbed ‘The Three Treasures of Tai Hom' (大磡三寶). The former Royal Air Force Hangar The Former Royal Air Force Hangar has been accorded a Grade III status by the Antiquities and Monuments Office. It was erected in 1934 at the Kai Tak Airport as a civilian aircraft hangar. However, it was later dismantled by the Japanese due to construction of a new runway at the airport. The hangar was re-erected at Tai Hom Village in 1943 by the Japanese Air Force; it was believed that the hangar's function was to house Japanese military aircraft, mainly Zero-Sen fighters, and appliances. It was also used as training grounds for the aircrew and technicians. After World War II, the hangar was used by the English military, but was abandoned in the 1970s. It was then used by the government and various organisations. Examples of past uses include: • Storage, packaging and distribution of relief commodities received from the United States by various relief agencies • Packing of food parcels by the government's Urban Services Department together with the Cooperative For American Relief Everywhere, a relief organisation • Production of animal foodstuff by private company Hing Muk Animal Foodstuff Company The Former Royal Air Force Hangar is presently the only surviving pre-war military aircraft hangar in Hong Kong; it is also one of the few remains of the Kai Tak Airport in its early days. The construction of the Stone House was based on one of China's four great classical novels, Dream of the Red Chamber. In 1947, land was bought by Yang Shou-ren, who named it Tai Koon Yuen; several film studios were subsequently set up in the area. Several businessmen then set up two–storied stone houses, providing residence for artists and film makers. According to Wong Tai Sin District Councillor Lam Man-fai, the "grading of historic structures is to evaluate their cultural significance, and not just looking at several stone houses". Wallace Chang Ping-hung, a professor of architecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, claimed that the MTRCL's plan "amounts to raping the heritage". According to the Planning Department's newest evaluation, the Old Pillbox will remain situated at its present location; however, it is estimated that the Sha Tin to Central Link Railway will occupy part of the location where the Hangar and Stone House are positioned. As both structures are in states of disrepair, it will be unfeasible to restore them after their disassembly. It is reported that the SCL Environmental impact assessment will further examine the technical feasibility of relocating the Hangar and Stone House, together with future uses of both structures. District Councillor Lam Man-fai suggested that it would be better if the future SCL depot could be constructed underground, so as to allow the three heritage sites to remain. It would also reduce noise, but the MTRCL claimed that this would increase time and money. ==Residential developments==

Public housing In 1976, the Government released a zoning plan for 265 hectares, in which they projected to house some 219,000 in subsidised public housing by 1996. In 1984 plans for Home Ownership Scheme flats to house 15,600 people and Public Housing for a further 24,500 for the area were unveiled on a site of 81 hectares. At the time of the announcement, the squatter population was estimated at 35,000. Galaxia Galaxia (星河明居) is a private housing estate located at 3 Lung Poon Street, near the Diamond Hill station. Galaxia comprises five blocks (A–E). There are 46 floors in Block A and E and 47 floors in Block B, C and D, making a total of 1,684 units. Galaxia is connected to the Plaza Hollywood shopping centre. It was constructed in 1998, developed by Wheelock & Co., The Wharf (Holdings) Limited, New Asia Realty and Harriman Realty. In 2008, ISS Eastpoint took the place of Harriman Realty in the Galaxia consortium. ==Development plans for the former village site==

After the successful demolition of Tai Hom Village in early 2001, the village site has been left vacant and subject to various development plans proposed by the government and the public. The major ones include the construction of an Environmental Public Housing Estate, a Museum Complex, and the latest, the Sha Tin to Central Link depot of the MTRCL. Transformation into an environmental public housing estate The first development plan was officially announced in August 2000, when the Housing Department justified its plan to demolish Tai Hom Village on the grounds of urban renewal, proposing to transform the village into the first-ever Environmental Estate (expected to provide approximately 3,000 flats) in the site based on the notion of sustainable development. According to the Housing Department, the construction works were expected to be completed in 2006 at the earliest. At that time, the Housing Authority was planning to incorporate several green design concepts into the development plan, such as: Furthermore, a member of the Housing Authority claimed that the Housing Department had not forwarded to them any information on the progress of the site's planning work. In subsequent years the government has revived plans on building Public Housing Estates in Tai Hom. During 17 July 2015, the government approved to build Public Housing Estates and Home Ownership estates on the site of Tai Hom. Since then, Phase 1 and has been completed in 2021 and 2023 respectively. Construction of a museum complex On 7 January 2003, the Wong Tai Sin District Council passed a motion, proposing that the government construct a Museum Complex with the theme "Theatre of the Orient" (「東方影城」) at the former Tai Hom Village site. Planned to be built in an Oriental architectural style, the Museum Complex would occupy more than 7 hectares of the village site. A rough estimate put the cost of the whole construction project at $3–4 billion or more (not inclusive of premium). In their proposal, major suggestions put forward include: however, the government did not map out a corresponding development plan for the former Village site afterwards. Construction of Sha Tin to Central Link (SCL) depot Originally, it was decided that the MTRCL train depot for the future Sha Tin-Central line be built at the former Kai Tak Airport site. It was not until October 2006 that the government released the Kai Tak redevelopment plan, under which the depot would have to be constructed in another district instead of the Airport site. A month later, government sources revealed that the MTRCL train depot for the future Sha Tin-Central line might be relocated to Diamond Hill, and that the government was studying the feasibility of constructing the depot at the former Tai Hom Village site in particular; however, they emphasised that other pieces of land apart from Diamond Hill could be possible sites for building the depot, so long as they were situated along the new rail line. '''Table 2: Reasons for existing train depots' inability to accommodate the construction of the SCL''' • employing a "semi-depressed" design such that the depot will be only 1.5 to 6m above ground, thereby mitigating the noise and visual intrusion brought about; • conducting a Heritage Impact Assessment in view of the presence of historical structures at the former Village site; and • keeping in touch with the public for discussion about any particulars as to the SCL project. ==See also==