History
Several hundreds years ago, the area around the reservoir was a dense forest with very few inhabitants. In the early days of the Qing Dynasty (17th century), a former general of the Ming Dynasty became a pirate and built his fortress in the lower part of the river valley. Hence the area is now called Shung Mun or "fortified gate".
After 1669, when the Great Clearance imposed by the Manchu Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty was rescinded, many Hakkas settled in this area, growing rice, tea and pineapples. In the early 20th century, there were seven villages in the area.
In 1933 the Shing Mun Reservoir was built to meet the increasing demand for fresh water due to the urbanisation of Kowloon. The reservoir was completed in 1937. It was once named Jubilee Reservoir (銀禧水塘) to celebrate Silver Jubilee (1935) of King George V of the United Kingdom.
The local inhabitants were resettled in other parts of the New Territories, and now some of the old villages are submerged. The remains of other villages and houses can be seen in the woods on the side of the reservoir. The remains of Gin Drinkers Line on the nearby hills show the defences of British force against Japanese invasion during World War II.
It is possible to see many troops of macaque monkeys around the picnic sites and in the woodland areas. To preserve the natural environment of the reservoir, its surrounding area is managed under Shing Mun Country Park. Two walking trails, Wilson Trail and MacLehose Trail, cross at the side of the reservoir.
Read more about this topic: Shing Mun Reservoir
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“In history the great moment is, when the savage is just ceasing to be a savage, with all his hairy Pelasgic strength directed on his opening sense of beauty;—and you have Pericles and Phidias,—and not yet passed over into the Corinthian civility. Everything good in nature and in the world is in that moment of transition, when the swarthy juices still flow plentifully from nature, but their astrigency or acridity is got out by ethics and humanity.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“The history of the past is but one long struggle upward to equality.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)
“The second day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more”
—John Adams (1735–1826)