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Before delving into Lung Hang Estate in Sha Tin, let me first share my impression of it.
To be honest, my initial impression of Lung Hang Estate was quite vague. At best, I remembered that it was located next to Sun Chui Estate (I will write an article about Sun Chui Estate later if I have the opportunity).
Is there a connection between Copypasta and Lung Hang Estate?
It was not until a friend recently shared an old post from a forum with me that I realized: “Wow! The place where a woman reported a crime because she was scared by the sound of chopping pork (in Cantonese, “斬豬肉聲嚇親膽小婦人報警”) was actually at Lung Hang Market?”
If you haven’t heard this amusing story, here’s a brief summary. In short, a woman passing by Lung Hang Market was frightened by the sound of a pork stall next door chopping pork with a knife and called the police. Let me quote the content from the forum. “A timid woman went to Lung Hang Market at 2:20 pm. When she walked to the opposite side of the meat stall, she was scared by the sound of the meat stall staff chopping pork with a knife. The woman was frightened and called the police. Afterwards, she was taken to the hospital by an ambulance for treatment.” Does it sound ridiculous but funny? Even the internet celebrity Tat Gor once read this news report (click here to listen to Tat Gor reading in Cantonese).
It is unknown whether this report is true or false, but such amusing stories are occasionally discovered by netizens, showing that it has become a part of internet popular culture.
Beyond Oi Man Estate: The Housing Estate Visited by Queen Elizabeth II in 1986
Apart from the aforementioned absurd anecdote, my other impression of Lung Hang Estate is that it was another public housing estate visited by Queen Elizabeth II after Oi Man Estate.
After reviewing news reports of Queen Elizabeth II’s visit in October 1986, the China Daily reported that the Queen visited a household in Lung Hang Estate, while the Takungpao reported that when the Queen arrived at Lung Hang Estate, “more than 3,000 people gathered at the site to welcome her… adding much festive atmosphere.”
My most memorable moments at Lung Hang Estate…
Speaking of my experience wandering around Lung Hang Estate, it actually had more surprises than I expected.
First, let’s talk about the cooked food kiosks. There are not many cooked food kiosks in Lung Hang Estate, but what impressed me the most was that each cooked food kiosk had a different colour on top. The red, green, and yellow tops were particularly eye-catching. Additionally, there are convenience stores in the shape of mushroom pavilions. I do not know why, but it reminded me of the housing estate near my primary school, which had the same design.
To me, the landmarks of Lung Hang Estate today should be both the distinctive Mushroom Pavilion and the estate’s shopping centre. However, as I had the urge to discover more information about Lung Hang Estate, I found out that there was a fountain located in the square during the early stages of the estate’s construction! According to a report from the Hong Kong Industrial and Commercial Daily in 1984, it stated that “residents were very fond of this fountain, and many regarded it as a wishing fountain”, and further indicated that the fountain was a distinctive feature of Lung Hang Estate.
Unfortunately, the fountain was eventually filled in and replaced by the Dragon Boat Garden. Personally, I still feel that the fountain would have been more distinctive.
Lastly, the original name of Lung Hang Estate was not actually Lung Hang Estate, but Tat Sum Estate. Although I was skeptical when I initially saw this information on Wikipedia, I later found a report from the Ta Kung Pao in November 1981, which did confirm that Lung Hang Estate was originally named Tat Sum Estate “after a local name”, but was later given a more appropriate name, although the reason was not mentioned in the report. Lung Hang Estate was completed in 1983 and comprises six towers, namely Wing Sum House, Lok Sum House, Hok Sum House, Sin Sum House, Cheung Sum House, and Wai Sum House.
Info
Location: 1 Tin Sam Street, Tai Wai New Territories, Hong Kong
Year of Intake：1983
No of Blocks：6
No of Flats：4400
Types of Blocks：Double H, Old Slab, Twin Tower
Source：房委會、維基百科