View source for Mui Wo

{{Short description|Town on Lantau Island, Hong Kong}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name                    = Mui Wo
| native_name             = 梅窩
| native_name_lang        = yue
| settlement_type         = Town
| image_skyline           = Mui Wo 2021.jpg
| image_caption           = Mui Wo, as viewed from the hills from the north in 2021
| image_map               = 
| map_caption             = Map of Lantau Island showing Mui Wo.
| coordinates             = {{coord|22|15|52|N|114|00|5|E|display=inline}}
| seat_type               = [[District councils of Hong Kong|District Council]]
| seat                    = [[Islands District Council|Islands District]]
| leader_party            = [[Independent politician|Independent]]
| leader_title            = Member of the District Council
| leader_name             = Randy Yu Hon-kwan
| unit_pref               = Metric
| area_total_km2          = 
| elevation_m             = 
| population_as_of        = 2011
| population_total        = 5,485
| population_density_km2  = auto
}}
{{Infobox Chinese
|order=
|showflag=
|t=梅窩
|s=梅窝
|j=Mui<sup>4</sup> wo<sup>1</sup>
|p=Méi wō
|l=plum nest
|y=Mùih wō
}}

'''Mui Wo''' is a rural town on the eastern coast of [[Lantau Island]] in [[British Hong Kong|Hong Kong]]. The 2011 census recorded 5,485 people living in Mui Wo and its environs.<ref>{{Cite web | title=2011 Population Census – Fact Sheet for Tertiary Planning Units 961 – 962 | url=http://www.census2011.gov.hk/en/district-profiles/tpu/tpu961.html | quote=The census takers combine statistics for Mui Wo (Tertiary Planning Unit 962) with the sparsely populated area to the north and northwest (TPU 961) that includes Tai Ho}}</ref>

Mui Wo (English: Mui Wo), formerly known as Mei Wo or Mei Wei (Cantonese: Wo and Wei are homophones), is located in the eastern part of Lantau Island in the New Territories of Hong Kong. Mui Wo has a beautiful environment and is a good place for vacationing in Hong Kong.

As early as the 16th century during the Ming dynasty, farmers were already living in Mui Wo Valley. By the 19th century, it had developed into six villages. Mui Wo is located on Silvermine Bay, so named for the silver mines that were once worked along the Silver River ({{lang-zh|t=銀河|labels=no}}) which flows through the village. The main beach in Mui Wo is known as '''Silver Mine Bay Beach''' ({{lang-zh|t=銀鑛灣泳灘|labels=no}}). The town is known for the feral water buffalos and cows that roam the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/LantauBuffaloAssociation/info|title=Facebook}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://travel.cnn.com/hong-kong/life/whats-buffaloes-lantau-739010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714230158/http://travel.cnn.com/hong-kong/life/whats-buffaloes-lantau-739010 |title=What's up with the buffaloes on Lantau Island? | archive-date=2014-07-14|author=Doug Meigs|website=CNN}}</ref>

Prior to the [[Airport Core Programme]] and the subsequent development of [[Tung Chung]] and North Lantau into a [[New towns of Hong Kong|new town]], Mui Wo was the principal point for day-trippers setting out to explore Lantau Island. Today, it is still the principal way of reaching South Lantau – from the beaches in [[Cheung Sha]] to the fishing village of [[Tai O]] and the [[Tian Tan Buddha]]. With the opening of [[Ngong Ping 360]] and the new, smoother [[Tung Chung Road]], this may change.
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==History==
[[File:Yuen's Mansion (Hong Kong).jpg|thumb|Yuen's Mansion and one of its two watchtowers, in Chung Hau, Mui Wo.]]
[[File:Silvermine Cave 2.JPG|thumb|Entrance of Silvermine Cave in 2016]]
The recorded history of Mui Wo dates back to the last days of the [[Song dynasty#Southern Song, 1127–1279|Southern Song dynasty]]. Fleeing south from the invading [[Yuan dynasty]], in 1277 the Southern Song imperial court sought refuge in Silvermine Bay (at that time known as Mei Yu or 梅蔚). In March 1278, whilst attempting a further escape from the Mongols, the penultimate Song emperor [[Emperor Duanzong of Song|Duanzong]] fell from a boat and almost drowned. After his rescue, he became ill and died a few months later at Mui Wo. Duanzong's successor, [[Zhao Bing]], was enthroned at Mui Wo on 10 May 1278.

Mui Wo is one of five villages of Lantau that were resettled when the coastal restriction of the [[Great Clearance]] was lifted in 1669. The other villages are [[Tung Sai Chung]], [[Lo Pui O]], [[Shek Pik]] and [[Tai O]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Siu|first=Anthony Kwok-kin|year=1989|title=Tai Yu Shan from Chinese Historical Records|journal=Journal of the [[Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong Branch]]|volume=29|pages=394–398|url=http://hkjo.lib.hku.hk/archive/files/c084c39fe9137f5068aa899db19b9d7c.pdf|issn=1991-7295|accessdate=}}</ref>

===Mining===
A silver and lead mine, close to the settlement of [[Pak Ngan Heung]] and Sivermine Waterfall, formally opened in March 1886.<ref>Sacramento Daily Union, 29 April 1886, page 2</ref> It had closed by the time China leased the [[New Territories]] to Britain in 1898.<ref>Hongkong Government Gazette, 8 April 1899, Appendix No. 2, Report on the Geology of the New Territory by Mr. Ormsby</ref> The main entrance is now called Silvermine Cave. People can only enter the first ten metres or so as the rest of the tunnels have been blocked off for safety reasons, and to prevent disturbance to the rare species of bats who live there.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Written reply from the then-Secretary for Development, Mrs Carrie Lam, to a question from a Legislative Council member, Cheung Hok-ming: "LCQ15: Improvement works in Mui Wo" | date=4 March 2009 | url=http://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/200903/04/P200903040157.htm}}</ref>

===19–27 August 1945: Mui Wo massacre===
Japanese soldiers killed at least nine people and arrested 300 Mui Wo villagers in the weeks after Japan surrendered on 15 August 1945, ending the Second World War.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Hong Kong's War Crimes Trials Collection Website, compiled by Suzannah Linton and Hong Kong University Libraries | url=http://hkwctc.lib.hku.hk/exhibits/show/hkwctc/documents/item/58}}</ref><ref>UK National Archives reference: WO235/993.</ref> Many victims were beaten and tortured. Some were beheaded.

Twelve Japanese soldiers who took part in the massacre were convicted of war crimes in 1946, and three of them hanged. The rest were sentenced to between two and ten years in jail. In their defence, the Japanese soldiers said they had been responding to a guerrilla attack after Japan's capitulation. Their actions were to maintain law and order until they could formally surrender to Allied forces. The judge rejected their arguments, stating that the Mui Wo residents were not responsible for the guerrillas' actions.

==Villages==
[[File:Man Mo Temple, Mui Wo 2.JPG|thumb|[[Man Mo Temple (Hong Kong)|Man Mo Temple]] in [[Pak Ngan Heung]], Mui Wo.]]
Villages in the vicinity of Mui Wo include:
* [[Luk Tei Tong]]
* Mui Wo Kau Tsuen ({{lang-zh|t=梅窩舊村|labels=no}})
* [[Pak Ngan Heung]]
* [[Tai Tei Tong]]
* Tung Wan Tau ({{lang-zh|t=東灣頭|labels=no}})
* Wang Tong (橫塘)
* [[Wo Tin]]

==Sights==
[[File:HK SilvermineWaterfall 2015.jpg|thumb|Silver Mine Waterfall]]
[[File:Silvermine Bay Beach.jpg|right|thumb|Mui Wo's Silver Mine Bay Beach]]
Nearby attractions include [[Silver Mine Bay Beach]], Silver Mine Waterfall and a temple dedicated to [[Man Mo Temple (Hong Kong)|Man Mo]], originally built during the reign of [[Wanli Emperor|Wanli]], emperor of the [[Ming dynasty]] (1573–1620).<ref>[http://www.islandsdc.gov.hk/index.php?action=sight&did=5&sid=43&lang=en Exploring Islands. Man Mo Temple, Mui Wo.] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927050144/http://www.islandsdc.gov.hk/index.php?action=sight&did=5&sid=43&lang=en |date=27 September 2011 }}</ref> There is a small local museum with old photos of Mui Wo and rural artefacts located behind the Silvermine Bay Resort Hotel. The museum is open only on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

===Silver Mine Bay Beach===
{{main|Silver Mine Bay Beach}}
The beach is one of the five gazetted beaches on Lantau. [[Leisure and Cultural Services Department]] life guards patrol it and there is a shark net to protect swimmers April through October. There were 69,580 visitors during the seven-month-long official bathing season in 2012—an average of 201 on weekdays and 461 on weekends and public holidays. There were 4,550 visitors on the busiest day, and 16,900 during the busiest month.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Beach Water Quality in Hong Kong | year=2012 | url=http://www.beachwq.gov.hk/UpFile/en/bwq_report2012.pdf}}</ref>

Facilities include a fast food kiosk, BBQ pits(24nos), changing room, shower facilities, toilet, family changing room, babycare room and beach volleyball court. There is even a resort nearby.

==Education==
[[File:HK Lantau MuiWoSchool.JPG|thumb|Mui Wo School]]
[[File:Mui Wo Municipal Services Building (Hong Kong).jpg|thumb|Mui Wo Municipal Services Building includes the Mui Wo Library, Mui Wo Market, and Mui Wo Sports Centre]]
Most of Lantau Island, including Mui Wo, is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 98, which contains multiple [[aided schools]] on Lantau Island, including Mui Wo School (梅窩學校); no government primary schools are in this net.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/edu-system/primary-secondary/spa-systems/primary-1-admission/school-lists/Net98.pdf|title=POA School Net 98|publisher=[[Education Bureau]]|accessdate=2025-10-12}}</ref> Mui Wo Primary School celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.mws.edu.hk/doc/S01.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902115445/http://www.mws.edu.hk/doc/S01.pdf | archive-date=2021-09-02 | title=History of Mui Wo School}}</ref>

[[Heung Yee Kuk]] New Territories South District Secondary School closed in 2007. In 2009, residents protested against and blocked a plan<ref name=rejects>{{cite news |url=http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=83309&sid=24180990&con_type=1&d_str=20090611&sear_year=2009 |title=Mui Wo rejects drug school move |work=The Standard |first=Beatrice |last=Siu |date=11 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604131813/http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=83309&sid=24180990&con_type=1&d_str=20090611&sear_year=2009 |archive-date=4 June 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> for a rehabilitation centre for drug offenders—the [[Christian Zheng Sheng College]]—to take over the site. There is a campaign to reopen the school for local students, but the school was still empty in January 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/pages/Re-open-Mui-Wo-Secondary-School/371829458727|title=Facebook}}</ref> [[Buddhist Fat Ho Memorial College]] attempted to obtain the site.<ref>{{cite web|last=Zhao|first=Shirley|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1397658/competition-hots-vacant-lantau-school-site|title=Competition hots up for vacant Lantau school site |newspaper=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=2014-01-05|accessdate=2021-06-23}}</ref>

Silvermine Bay School is a private kindergarten and primary school in Mui Wo.

[[Hong Kong Public Libraries]] operates Mui Wo Public Library within the Mui Wo Municipal Services Building.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hkpl.gov.hk/en/locations/islands/library/mui-wo.html|title=Mui Wo Public Library|publisher=[[Hong Kong Public Libraries]]|access-date=2025-10-12}}</ref>

==Future development==
The First-term Work Report of the Lantau Development Advisory Committee (LanDAC) was released in early 2016. The report proposes a new expressway linking Kennedy Town to Mui Wo, and the development of an "East Lantau Metropolis" at Mui Wo. In all, the report proposes housing up to one million residents on Lantau Island, up from the current figure of approximately 100,000.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lantau Development Advisory Committee|url=https://www.devb.gov.hk/en/boards_and_committees/landac/index.html|publisher=Development Bureau|access-date=18 January 2016}}</ref>

==Notable residents==
The cartoonist [[Larry Feign]], who wrote and drew ''[[The World of Lily Wong]]'', lives in Wang Tong (橫塘), a village in Mui Wo.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Feign |first=Larry |date=2024-02-03 |title=Book extract: 32 bucolic years in a car-free island village in Hong Kong |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3250507/life-beaten-track-32-years-remote-car-free-village-hong-kongs-lantau-island |access-date=2024-06-26 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
[[Mirror (group)|MIRROR]]'s reality show 'Be a Better MIRROR' by [[ViuTV]] is filmed in Mui Wo.<ref>{{cite news |title=【調教你Mirror】跟隨Mirror的足跡 細數成員們的梅窩打卡點 |url=https://www.marieclaire.com.hk/mirror-in-mui-wo/ |publisher=marie claire hk magazine |date=3 July 2021}}</ref>

==Transport==
[[File:NWFF MngRiver.JPG|thumb|[[Silvermine Bay Ferry Pier]] in Mui Wo]]
[[File:Bus Terminal at Mui Wo.JPG|right|thumb|Mui Wo bus terminus]]

===Sea===
Mui Wo is connected by [[Sun Ferry|ferry]] to [[Central, Hong Kong|Central]] ([[Central Piers|Central ferry pier]] number 6). Other ferry services link Mui Wo to [[Discovery Bay]], [[Peng Chau]], [[Chi Ma Wan]] and [[Cheung Chau]].

===Land===
Buses operate from Mui Wo to other places on Lantau, including [[Tung Chung]] (3M) and thus Hong Kong Airport (A35) and the rail network. The major road [[South Lantau Road]] begins with Mui Wo and ends in [[Tai O]], with [[Tung Chung Road]] branching from [[Cheung Sha]] to Tung Chung.

The South Lantau and Tung Chung Roads connect Mui Wo to the rest of Hong Kong's road network. They are closed to private vehicles but local residents and businesses can apply for permits to use them.<ref>{{Cite web | website=Transport Department | title=Lantau Closed Road Permit | url=http://www.td.gov.hk/en/public_services/licences_and_permits/lantau_closed_road_permit/}}</ref>

Numerous hiking trails lead from Mui Wo to other parts of the island. The long hiking trail on the island, [[Lantau Trail]], starts from Mui Wo. A much-frequented route leads north-east from Mui Wo to [[Discovery Bay]] via a [[pagoda]], the [[Trappist Haven Monastery]], and then either up the mountain via the [[Discovery Bay]] [[golf course]] or by the ocean via [[Nim Shue Wan]].

===Air===
The [[Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps]] operate a helipad at the end of Mui Wo Ferry Pier Road that is close to the sewage plant.<ref>{{Cite web | title=Chairman's Report, 2012 AGM – Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps | url=http://www.aircadets.org.hk/web/form/Chairman's%20Report%20AGM%202012(2).pdf | website=www.aircadets.org.hk}}</ref>

==Parks and recreation==
The Mui Wo Sports Centre is in the Mui Wo Municipal Services Building, operated by the [[Leisure and Cultural Services Department]]. It began operations in August 1993.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lcsd.gov.hk/clpss/en/webApp/Facility/Details.do?fid=870&did=3|title=Mui Wo Sports Centre|publisher=[[Leisure and Cultural Services Department]]|access-date=2025-10-12}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of places in Hong Kong]]
{{-}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Mui Wo}}
* [https://www.had.gov.hk/rre/images/village_map1922/T/t-mw-06b.pdf Delineation of area of existing village Chung Hau (North) (Mui Wo) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)]
* [https://www.had.gov.hk/rre/images/village_map1922/T/t-mw-06b.pdf Delineation of area of existing village Chung Hau (South) (Mui Wo) for election of resident representative (2019 to 2022)]
* [https://www.mws.edu.hk/en/index.php Mui Wo School]
* [http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Hong-Kong/Lantau-Island/blog-780754.html Discovery Bay to Nim Shue Wan Hike – Travel Blog]
{{Lantau Island}}
{{Islands District}}
{{Reclaimed land in Hong Kong}}
{{Lantautaxi}}

[[Category:Mui Wo| ]]
[[Category:Places in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Populated places in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Lantau Island]]