Wun Yiu was once a centre of porcelain industry in the New Territories. As early as the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), clans of Man and Tse had started manufacturing the blue and white porcelain using locally mined china clay. The Ma clan, a group of Hakka people originated from Changle county in Guangdong province, settled in Tai Po and purchased the kilns from the Man clan in 1674 (the 13th year of Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty). In the early 1900s, British colonial government records show that the site produced over 400,000 pieces of porcelain a year. The industry declined in the early 20th century due to the competition from good quality and inexpensive porcelain produced by other coastal kilns in Guangdong. The kilns at Wun Yiu finally ceased to operate in 1932.
Archaeological investigations at Wun Yiu discovered the remains illustrating the complete process of porcelain production such as china clay quarrying pits, water-mills, animal-driven grinder, clay soaking tanks and dragon kilns. They all are important cultural heritage of Hong Kong. Near to the temple you can find the Wun Yiu Exhibition (opened Fri-Wed 9:30-13:00 and 14:00-17:30) displaying various artifacts and a model of the area showing where the various sites were related
The starting point of this multi-cache is a small temple called "chung-yi-ji", translated: temple of loyalty and friendship. Here the deity Guan Yu, a well-known general from the Three Kingdoms period is honoured. He is also commonly known as Kwan Kung. He is featured in the 2011 movie The Lost Bladesman.
(a) is the number of green benches just outside the temple yard.
S1 - Fan Sin Temple, also known as Fan Sin Kung or Fan Sin Miu. The temple, located in Sheung Wun Yiu, Tai Po was declared a monument on 30 December 1999.
The Fan Sin Temple is the main temple in the villages of the Sheung Wun Yiu and Ha Wun Yiu and is the only temple in Hong Kong worshipping Fan Tai Sin Sze, the patron saint of potters. The construction date of the temple is uncertain but a wooden plaque hanging at the main hall of the temple was carved in the Geng-xu year of the Qianlong reign of Qing Dynasty, indicating that the temple has a history of over 200 years. It is commonly believed that Fan Sin Temple was built by the Ma clan to worship Fan Tai Sin Sze.
Its architecture is simple and functional, with the exception of fine decorations at the entrance. However, after a serious fire in mid 1970s, many historic relics were destroyed. The calligraphy and paintings above the entrance were repainted during the renovation in 1976 after the fire. Windows with iron frameworks were also installed on four sides of the temple after World War II.
There exists a wooden plaque from 1970 and four commemorative stone plaques recording the restorations in 1897, 1925, 1964 and 1976 respectively. A further restoration of the temple has recently been carried out. It is now open to the public.
From which year is the oldest known artifact in the temple? Add up the numbers until you have a single digit (e.g. 1898 becomes 1+8+9+8 = 19, 1+9 = 10, 1+0 = 1) to get t.
S2 - The actual site of the old kilns. Unfortunately while it has been declared a monument long time ago, nothing with the site has happened other than that a fence surrounding it has been erected. The reason the site is still not conserved is said to be related to land ownership issues. It is possible to walk around the fence, however it's not meant to be. Broken pottery and remains of the kilns can be seen all over the place.
At WP2 you can find a plaque with a short description of the site. On the plaque you will find the following sentence: "It was declared a monument on 15 April 19(b)(c)".
The cache is located near the kiln site, about 10m off the paved path, just off a dirt path. Cache terrain is 1.5-2 except for these last few meters. Cache can be found at the following coordinates:
N22°26.(a)(b-6)(t-5), E114°09.(a+5)(b-1)(c-1)
Getting there: TH1 is about 20 minutes walk from Tai Po Market station, or take minibus 23K and ask the driver to get off at Wun Yiu. From TH1 walk up the road for a few minutes to reach the starting point. The cache is also reachable by bicycle but you may have to push your bike up the steep road.
Opening hours of Fan Sin Temple: 9:00am – 1:00pm & 2:00pm – 5:00pm daily. Closed on Tuesdays, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and the first 3 days of the Lunar New Year.
It is not necessary to enter the temple to find the cache, but a visit is highly recommended.
Tai Po new town is one of the oldest New Town developments in Hong Kong. Development started in the 1970s with the major improvement of the then KCR train services, providing fast and convenient transport services to the north-eastern New Territories.
Tai Po district has a population of just over 300,000 people, of which about 250,000 live in the urban areas and the rest lives scattered in villages around the district. The district has a remarkably rich history, having served as political and trade centres over the last centuries.
Getting around Tai Po is best done by bicycle, there are several shops renting out bicycles near Tai Po Market station, on Kwong Fuk Road and also in other parts of the town.