Ancient tombs reflect our cultural heritage

Ancient tombs reflect our cultural heritage

Tuesday, March 10, 2015 The Standard


Did you know the oldest discovered tomb site in Hong Kong is more than 6,000 years old? It was unearthed at Tung Wan Tsai North on Ma Wan in 1997, along with 20 graves.

This week I am going to talk about a tomb that is more than 2,000 years old in Sham Shui Po.The Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb was accidentally discovered in August 1955 when the authorities were cutting a hill slope at the Lei Cheng Uk Village to construct resettlement buildings.Archaeologists believe the tomb was built during the Eastern Han dynasty (AD 25-220).

Though closed to the public for conservation reasons, visitors may still view the external structures. The museum's specially designed canopy and refurbished exhibition hall provide a new museum experience.The tomb was excavated and archaeologists began to investigate the possibility that salt production flourished in Hong Kong around 2,000 years ago. The structure and burial objects show similarities to other Han tombs found in most of southern China showing that Chinese civilization spread to Hong Kong all those years ago.Other amazing unearthed material found showed that Hong Kong was under the administration of Panyu county during the Han period.From the massive burial site and objects found there, we can conclude that the tomb's owner must have been related to the imperial families.From the feng shui perspective, the tomb was oriented with the Eagle's Nest as back support, with Stonecutters Island as the front view and Rambler Channel as the water element. The branch of Beacon Hill formed as the Green Dragon is on the left. We can't seem to find the right tiger, probably the only flaw of the tomb. Once overlooking the seashore, the site of the tomb is now almost 2,000 meters away from the sea, following a series of land reclamations.

The significant contribution is not the site; rather it is the continuing cultural heritage, which reminds us it is cultural values that will keep our community going for another few thousand years.The site is located at 41 Tonkin Street in Sham Shui Po district. Please do visit this wonderful piece of history.And let the world know that Hong Kong people are still interested in culture besides money.