History
Tung Chung Fort was built in the Shun Hei era (淳熙, 1174 - 1189) of Southern Song Dynasty. Smugglers on the Lantau Island smuggled salt from the island to the Canton City and attacked the government of the city. The government sent a navy led by King Leok Chin (經略錢) to fight against the smugglers. Three hundred soldiers were stationed in Tung Chung and built the Tung Chung Fort. After 3 years of peace, the soldiers were called back and 150 of them were transferred to build Kowloon Walled City, in which they later stayed.
During the Qing Dynasty, many pirates, including the famous Cheung Po Tsai, chose the bay of Tung Chung as their base and made use of the fort. The Qing Government recovered the fort after the surrender of Cheung Po Tsai. In 1832 (or 1817 alternatively) the fort was restricted and garrisoned by the Right Battalion of Tai Peng to defend the coast from pirates until the lease of New Territories to Britain in 1898. The fort was then abandoned.
During World War II, the Japanese army occupied the fort.
Tung Chung Fort went through several transformations later. It served as a police station and then as Wa Ying College. Now, it is the base for the Rural Committee Office and the Tung Chung Public School.
In 1979, it was declared a monument and was refurbished in 1988.
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