| Settlement Type: | Neighbourhood |
| Official Name: | Sha Tin |
| Native Name: | 沙田 |
| Native Name Lang: | zh-Hant-HK |
| Pushpin Map: | Hong Kong |
| Coordinates: | 22.375°N 114.1833°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | China |
| Subdivision Type1: | SAR |
| Subdivision Name1: | Hong Kong |
| Subdivision Type3: | District |
| Subdivision Name3: | Sha Tin District |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Demonym |
| Timezone: | HKT |
| Utc Offset: | +8 |
| Pic: | HK Shatin Magistrates Courts 2008.jpg |
| Piccap: | Lek Yuen Bridge over Shing Mun River in Sha Tin central |
| C: | 沙田 |
| L: | sandy field |
| Showflag: | j |
| Y: | Sā Tìhn |
| J: | Saa1 Tin4 |
| P: | Shātián |
Sha Tin, also spelt Shatin, is a neighbourhood along Shing Mun River in the eastern New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. Sha Tin is one of the neighbourhoods of the Sha Tin New Town project.
The new town was founded in 1973 under the New Towns Development Programme of the Hong Kong government. Its current name was named after the nearby village of Sha Tin Wai. The literal English translation is 'Sand Fields'.
Tai Wai Village, located in Tai Wai, next to Sha Tin, and the oldest and largest walled village in Sha Tin District, was built in 1574, during the Ming Dynasty.
Before British rule in Hong Kong, the area of Sha Tin and its vicinity was referred to as Lek Yuen (lit. "source of trickling" or "source of clear water"). Colonial officials allegedly mistook the name of the Sha Tin Wai village as the name of the area and it has been used ever since. Nowadays, the original name is used to refer to Lek Yuen Estate.
There was a market township: Sha Tin Hui, at the present location of Sha Tin Centre Street and New Town Plaza shopping centre, near the Sha Tin station of the MTR East Rail line.
Sha Tin was the location of the first flight of a powered aircraft in Hong Kong in 1911. The aeroplane was named as the Spirit of Sha Tin . A full size replica of this plane now hangs in Hong Kong International Airport.
The area was formerly agricultural farmland. Before Sha Tin's development into a new town, Hung Mui Kuk, southwest of Sha Tin, was perennially the main site for school picnics. The hillside area remains a popular barbecue site.
Starting in the 1970s, the area became part of the Sha Tin New Town development. Since then, the economy in the area has greatly improved and living standards have also increased. Sha Tin Town Centre was developed during the mid-1980s to help "link the town's currently dispersed residents into one cohesive community."[1] The 18-hectare site, adjacent to the railway station, was built up in stages to house an array of uses including the New Town Plaza, numerous smaller shopping malls, Sha Tin Park, a magistracy, library, town hall, marriage registry, hotel, town square, and several residential towers.
Sha Tin is located in a valley, on both sides of the Shing Mun River, running from the southwest to the northeast. It is bordered by Tai Wai in the southwest and by Fo Tan (left bank) and Shek Mun (right bank) in the northeast.
Due to their proximity to the Shenzhen border, towns in the northern parts of Hong Kong, notably Sheung Shui and Yuen Long, have become hubs for parallel traders who have been buying up large quantities of goods, forcing up local prices and disrupting the daily lives of local citizens.[2] [3] Since 2012, there has been an increase in mainland parallel traders arriving in the North District of Hong Kong to re-export infant formula and household products - goods popular with mainlanders - across the border to Shenzhen.[4] The volume of smuggling activity spilled over into Tuen Mun and Sha Tin in 2014.
The first anti-parallel trading protest was started at Sheung Shui in September 2012.[5] As government efforts to limit the adverse impact of mainland trafficking were widely seen as inadequate, so there have been further subsequent protests in towns in the New Territories including Sha Tin.[6] [7]
See main article: Public housing estates in Sha Tin.
See also: Private housing estates in Sha Tin District. Private housing estates in Sha Tin include:
South bank of Shing Mun River. From west to east:
North bank of Shing Mun River. From west to east:
Lukfook, the jewellery company, has its head office in Metropole Square, Sha Tin.[9]
While having been mass developed in the 1970s, Shatin's architecture maintains a degree of diversity. Most public housing estates were designed in a modern architectural style. Several shopping centres, hotels and government buildings around Shatin Central are clad in red brick.
The Prince of Wales Hospital was officially opened in 1982. It provides about 1,400 hospital beds and 24 hours Accident & Emergency service to the eastern New Territories. Other institutions which provide hospital services include the Sha Tin Hospital, the Cheshire Home and the Union Hospital.
As of 2008, there were 46 primary and 44 secondary schools in Sha Tin and Ma On Shan.[12]
Shatin Town Centre is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 91. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money); no government schools are in this net.[13]
There are numerous cultural, recreational and sport facilities in Sha Tin including the Town Hall, swimming pools, football pitches, indoor recreation centres and various track and field facilities for the use of Sha Tin residents.
The 8-hectare Sha Tin Park was opened to public in 1988. Apart from its horticultural gardens and impressive water features, it also includes a large open plaza and a bandstand. The Ma On Shan Park, which is adjacent to Ma On Shan Swimming Pool, occupies 5.5 hectare of land.
The Sha Tin Racecourse, occupying approximately 70 hectares, rests on reclaimed flatland. At the centre of the racecourse is the Penfold Garden which opens to the public on non-racing days.
Located in Tai Wai, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum was opened at the end of 2000. Apart from introducing the art, culture and history of the New Territories, the museum also exhibits a variety of cultural artifacts for public appreciation. It has pop culture exhibitions about Bruce Lee, Cantonese Opera, Jin Yong, development of Hong Kong popular music, film, and television and radio programmes. The museum, which can accommodate 6,000 visitors, is the largest in the territory.
Cycling has been a distinctive feature in Sha Tin and is very popular among both local people and visitors. The first cycle track in Sha Tin was opened to public in 1981, running along Tolo Highway to Tai Po, and this remains the territory's most popular cycling venue, drawing many occasional riders at the weekends, as well as dedicated cyclists. To tie in with the development of Ma On Shan, the cycle track was extended to Ma On Shan.
Hiking is also a popular activity around Sha Tin. There are several starting points including Hin Tin Village, Sha Tin Tau Village and Hung Mui Kuk Barbecue Area leading to the track of Lion Rock Mountain hiking route. It takes 1 hour to 4 hours to complete the track depending on the chosen starting point and ending point.
A Dragon Boat Racing competition is taking annually on Shing Mun River since 1984, at the time of the Dragon Boat Festival.[14]
Sha Tin is famous for certain local variants of Cantonese food such as ShanSui Tofu, barbecued pigeon and chicken congee. The cooked food stalls in Wo Che Estate and Fo Tan are hotspots for food.
There are numerous transportation links both within the Sha Tin District and connecting it to other places in Hong Kong.
The road network in Sha Tin is well developed to provide efficient cross-town and local access traffic. Connection between Sha Tin and Kowloon mainly relies on the Lion Rock Tunnel, Tate's Cairn Tunnel, Shing Mun Tunnel and Tai Po Road which makes it easy to reach from many areas of Kowloon as well as from Tsuen Wan.
At present, there are over 110 routes of public bus serving Sha Tin.