Location of the former quarries of the Four hills of KowloonHigh rises of Lam Tin. The village of Cha Kwo Ling is near the shore. The historical quarry is visible on the hill inbetween.Distant view of the Old Quarry Site Structures in Lei Yue Mun (Kowloon).Old Quarry Site Structures in Lei Yue Mun (Kowloon).
At the end of the 18th century, Hakka settled into the Cha Kwo Ling area, and quarrying became their main occupation. By that time, the villages of Cha Kwo Ling, Ngau Tau Kok, Sai Tso Wan and Lei Yue Mun were collectively called Sze Shan (四山, "Four Hills").[1] According to a missionary who visited the area in 1844, tens of quarries were in operation along the two miles stretch in eastern Kowloon.[2] In the early 20th century there were said to be more than 10 quarries in the Ngau Tau Kok section of the "Four Hills" alone, each employing 10 to 20 people, all Hakka with origins in the East River area of northeastern Guangdong.[3]
The Qing government appointed a headman for each "hill", in charge of ruling the area and collecting tax. The four headmen were collectively referred to as the Sze Shan Tau Yan (四山頭人, "Headmen of Four Hills"). The four villages also formed the Sze Shan Kung So (四山公所, "Communal Hall of Four Hills"), managing the quarrying business. The headmen system ended before World War II.[4]
The granite blocks extracted from the Four Hills were exported via sailboat, and several piers were built along the coast. The one at Sai Tso Wan was the biggest. Today, only parts of the Lei Yue Mun pier remain.[2]
^Hayes, James (June 15, 1994). "Chapter 3: San Po Tsai (Little Daughters-in-Law) and Child Betrothals in the New Territories of Hong Kong from the 1890s to the 1960s". In Jaschok, Maria; Miers, Suzanne (eds.). Women and Chinese patriarchy: submission, servitude, and escape. Zed Books. pp. 52–54. ISBN 978-1856491266.
Hayes, James (1977). The Hong Kong region, 1850-1911: institutions and leadership in town and countryside. Archon Books. pp. 151–162. ISBN 9780208016263.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Four hills of Kowloon.
Antiquities Advisory Board. Historic Building Appraisal. Old Quarry Site Structures, Lei Yue Mun, Kwun Tong, Kowloon Pictures
Planning Review on Development of Ex-Cha Kwo Ling Kaolin Mine Site (2013)
Planning Review on Development of Ex-Cha Kwo Ling Kaolin Mine Site (final report)
Four Hills Elementary School, Cha Kwo Ling at industrialhistoryhk.org
Moving Mountains: the Life and Mines of Ko Ming-fan at industrialhistoryhk.org