Remember Nga Tsin Wai

A village woman who loves history

From growing up to becoming the village head

A tough guy upholding traditions of walled village

A female worker married to a non-indigenous villager

Retired village head recollecting his fond memories of the past

Village representative committed to serve the village

Haifeng immigrant values his childhood friends

An ordinary villager with a simple heart

An indigenous villager landlord with a distinguished family background

An emigrated clansman fighting hard for his ancestral houses

An overseas Chinese in search of family root

A young man obedient to traditions of walled village

An overseas clansman returns to his cultural home

A clan officer identified with his ancestral root in his middle age

My heart remains with Nga Tsin Wai forever

A farmer in the city with strong sentiment to rural lives

29th generation villager looking for ancestral connection

An old man pondering over his childhood times in the village

My communist father was brought up in Nga Tsin Wai

Ng Hon Ko Tso

Ng Tai Un Tso

Ng Tung Un Tso

I lost my village and my family under Japanese Occupation

Hoklo immigrant integrated into the walled village

A rich family had their house built outside the walled village

Village elder yearning for rural lifestyle

Founded in Nga Tsin Wai around the beginning of the 15th century, the Ng Clan ratified Ng Shing Tat of the 9th generation as its founding ancestor. Starting from around the 11th generation onwards, the Ng Clan was divided into four branches, namely the eldest, second, third and fourth branches. Of these, the fourth branch had the largest membership and the most property. This branch was further divided into nine descent lines, namely Ng Chiu Fung Tso, Ng Chuen Fung Tso and Ng Tat Fung Tso of the 16th generation, Ng Tak Ko Tso, Ng Fung Ko Tso and Ng Hon Ko Tso of the 19th generation, and Ng Shen Yam Tso, Ng Chow Yam Tso and Ng Ching Yam Tso of the 20th generation. Between the Shunzhi years of 1643 to 1661 and the late part of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912), some clansmen relocated to nearby places such as Sha Po, Tung Tau and Shek Ku Lung or as far away as Siu Lek Yuen, Tseung Kwan O and Lamma Island. Some clansmen from the Ng Chiu Fung Tso descent line even emigrated overseas. Before the fall of Hong Kong to the Japanese army in 1941, the Ng Clansmen who settled in Nga Tsin Wai were mainly from the fourth branch, with the remaining three branches only having a few households residing there. From the 1940s to now, the Ng Clansmen gradually sold their houses and moved away from the village. Ng Shing Tat Tso’s main properties include the Ng Clan Ancestral Hall and its nearby land, the Tin Hau Temple and the three-surnamed ancestral house the clan jointly owns with the Chans and Lees. Located outside the village’s walls (the present Wong Tung House of Tung Tau Estate), the ancestral hall was built in 1894 and also served as a free school providing education to clansmen’s children. In the 1950s, the Government expropriated the land lot of the ancestral hall and compensated the open space next to it for reconstruction. The Government subsequently funded the construction of Chi Tak Public School, teaming up with the school council which had been jointly formed by Ng Shing Tat Tso and various government officials. The graveyard of Ng Shing Tat Tso was originally located in Sha Tin Tau (the present Yin Hing Street in San Po Kong), but vanished before the Japanese occupation’s end in 1945. Clansmen then started to pay their respects to their ancestors at the ancestral hall. Today, the Ng Clan has descended down to its 31st generation and its clansmen are scattered all over Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories as well as overseas. Ng Clansmen remain very enthusiastic about getting involved in clan activities, participating in ancestor worship, celebrating Tin Hau’s Birthday and the Jiao ritual, and also managing properties held by their clan’s ancestral trust.