考察地點 Field Sites

荔枝窩 Lai Chi Wo

地點介紹 Site Description

荔枝窩是沙頭角的一條村落,由17世紀起已有原居民定居,應為原藉河南開封的客家人所建。該處是荔枝窩自然步道及荔枝窩特別地區的所在地。

荔枝窩自然步道接通荔枝窩海岸、荔枝窩村及村後的風水林。海岸邊佈滿紅樹林,並棲息著大量濕地生物。此外,對出水域亦是香港東北面水域已知最大的矮大葉藻海草床,因此於1979年劃作具特殊科學價值地點。

古村前方是一片銀葉樹林,當中有白花魚藤交錯而生。

村後是一片風水林,即荔枝窩特別地區,由客家村民種植。樹林內錄得超過100種植物,主要為榕樹,但也有罕見品種如青藤公、金葉樹。林內的數棵古樹亦是景點之一,當中的空心樹和名為「五指樟」的樟樹是遊人的拍照熱點。

2013年起,香港大學社會科學學院策動永續發展坊、香港鄉郊基金、綠田園、長春社,聯同荔枝窩村合作,舉辦「永續荔枝窩-農業復耕及鄉村社區營造計劃」,以回復該地的農村面貌,保育生態和農村文化。

Lai Chi Wo is a village in Sha Tau Kok. Inhabitants- Hakkas from Henan province- first settled there in the 17th century. Lai Chi Wo Nature Trail and Lai Chi Wo Special Area is located in the village.

Lai Chi Wo Nature Trail connects the shore, the village and the  Fung Shui woods behind the village. Mangoves dotted the shore and provide shelter and food for mudflat organisms. Moreover, the nearby waters houses the largest Dwarf Eelgrass bed in the northeastern waters in Hong Kong. Hence, the area was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1979.

Large pieces of Looking-grass Mangroves take up the space in front of the village with intertwining White-flower Derris.

Behind the village is a piece of fengshui woodland planted by the Hakka residents. The woodland consists mainly of banyan trees but several rare species including Ficus langkokensis and Chrysophyllum lanceolatum var. stellatocarpon. Also inside are some ancient trees, such as an Autumn Maple called 'Hollow Tree' and a camphor tree called 'Five-finger Camphor', which have become tourist spots.

Since 2013, Policy for Sustainability Lab of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Countryside Foundation, Produce Green Foundation, the Conservancy Association and Lai Chi Wo Village collaborate on a project named "Living Water & Community Revitalization - An Agricultural-led Action, Engagement and Incubation Programme at Lai Chi Wo" to revive the village and to conserve the place's biodiversity and agriculture.