Countryside Trails (Lai Chi Wo and Mui Tsz Lam Section)

Lai Chi Wo

With almost 400 years of history, Lai Chi Wo is one of the largest, oldest, and best-preserved Hakka villages in the northeast New Territories. In its heyday in the 1950s, it was home to nearly 1,000 residents across more than 200 village houses, with terraced fields covering the hillsides to support a thriving, self-sufficient farming life.

Today, the surrounding natural environment remains remarkably intact, making Lai Chi Wo a rare remote village that holds both cultural and ecological value. It also lies within the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark, which is home to diverse habitats, from fung shui woodlands and freshwater streams to mangroves, mudflats, and wetlands teeming with biodiversity.

In recent years, with support from the Countryside Conservation Funding Scheme (CCFS) and community partners, Lai Chi Wo has seen a new chapter of life. Villagers and non-profit-making organisations have rehabilitated farming through reviving the long-abandoned terraced fields and launching cultural and eco-programmes. Guided walks, hands-on workshops, and cultural activities now give visitors the chance to engage with Hakka traditions, appreciate natural heritage, and witness the revitalisation of this once-silent village.

Mui Tsz Lam

Mui Tsz Lam is surrounded by mountains. Its name's origin is unclear, but it is believed to come from the 'plum trees' once surrounding the village. Nearly 400 years ago, the Tsang's family established their village in Mui Tsz Lam, engaging in terraced farming and livestock raising, living self-sufficiently. Later, the Tsang's and Wong's families jointly founded a village in Lai Chi Wo. As villagers moved to the city for work, the village gradually became deserted.

In recent years, villagers and various stakeholders have been revitalising Mui Tsz Lam. The project organisations of the Countryside Conservation Funding Scheme worked on farmland rehabilitation and village revitalisation; artists brought the village's ecology to life through murals, while filmmakers used the village as a scenic backdrop, breathing new life into Mui Tsz Lam.