Kam Tin Tree House in Hong Kong

　　The Kam Tin Tree House, located next to the playground in Sai Mei Tsuen, Kam Tin, Yuen Long, Hong Kong, is distinctive for having a large, complexly structured old banyan tree completely wrapping around a stone house. It holds several records in Hong Kong and bears witness to a piece of history from the early Qing Dynasty when the “Boundary Relocation Edict” (also known as the “Maritime Ban Edict”) was issued.

　　The old banyan tree is a species of Ficus microcarpa, listed under No. LCSD YL/6 in the “Register of Old and Valuable Trees.” Its trunk diameter measures 6,000 mm (diameter at 1.3 meters above ground level), the largest in Hong Kong; the tree stands 16.5 meters tall; and its crown spans 42 meters, which ties the record with the famous camphor tree in She Shan Village, Tai Po, as one of the widest in Hong Kong. As for age, the tree is at least over 100 years old. Estimates of its actual age vary—some say 300 years, others 400 years—but it’s noted that the brickwork technique used in the stone house it surrounds only dates back about 200 years. Therefore, if the tree were to have completely engulfed the house, its age could not differ too greatly from the time the bricks were made. However, it is widely agreed that the banyan tree is at least 150 years old.

　　In the early Qing Dynasty, to prevent coastal residents from aiding Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga), the Ming loyalist ruler of the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan, the Boundary Relocation Edict was issued in the first year of the Kangxi reign (1662). Coastal inhabitants from Shandong Province to Guangdong Province were forced to relocate 50 li (approximately 25 kilometers) inland, an area that included most parts of Hong Kong. This relocation left coastal residents homeless, farmland abandoned, and the fishing and salt industries ruined. Coupled with the maritime ban, Hong Kong was severely affected. The area of Kam Tin at the time also fell within the relocation zone, forcing the homeowner to leave. Since then, the stone house has lain abandoned for over a century.

　　Gradually, the banyan tree beside the stone house continued to grow, with branches intertwining and aerial roots spreading out until they gradually enveloped the structure, infiltrating the gaps between the bricks and tiles until they eventually collapsed and were absorbed by the tree. Professor Jim Chi-yung, Chair Professor of Geography at the University of Hong Kong and known as the “Tree Doctor,” explained that the aerial roots of Ficus microcarpa can penetrate deep into the soil and grow into new trunks. These new trunks then produce more aerial roots, and this process continues, eventually leading to what he describes as a “one-tree forest.”

　　Transportation Guide

　　Location: Next to the Playground in Sai Mei Tsuen, Kam Tin, Yuen Long District, Hong Kong

　　Getting There: Take New Territories minibuses route 601