Hong Lok Yuen

Hong Lok Yuen (Chinese: 康樂園) is a low-density luxury residential housing estate in Tai Po District, New Territories, Hong Kong, located near Cloudy Hill. It is north of Tai Po Town.^[1]

Panoramic view of Hong Lok Yuen with Tai Po and Tolo Harbour in the background

Hong Lok Yuen
Traditional Chinese	康樂園
Simplified Chinese	康乐园
Literal meaning	Happy healthy garden/leisure garden[1]
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Kānglèyuán Yue: Cantonese Jyutping hong1 lok6 jyun4

History

Hong Lok Yuen was previously an orchard owned by General Li Fulin.^[2] It is reputed to have excellent feng shui.^[3]

Hong Lok Yuen was approved for development in 1977^[4] as a new garden estate.^[5] Canadian Overseas Development and Clifford Wong Chun-fai [zh] (黃振輝) were the developers.^[1] The developing company was Hong Lok Yuen Property Co Ltd, a joint venture between Wong, a well-known architect, and Winpole International Ltd (永保國際有限公司), with Sun Hung Kai Properties later participating in the development.^[6] Between 1980 and September 1993, Hong Lok Yuen was sub-divided into a total of 1196 units.^[7]

The estate

The Hong Lok Yuen estate covers an area of 558,000 m² (6,010,000 sq ft), of which 40% is reserved for forests and parks. Most of the units are 1,600–3,500 sq ft (150–330 m²) two- or three-storey independent villas with garages and gardens.^[8] Hong Lok Yuen is one of the few large-scale bungalow-style luxury residential areas in Hong Kong, and has attracted many officials and artists as residents. A shopping centre, clubhouse and international school, International College Hong Kong, are located in the estate. ^[9][10]

Incidents

• "The Three Corpse Robbery Case"^[11] - No. 135, 10th Street, Hong Lok Yuen - On 28 September 1982, between about 09:30 and 11:30, a 32-year-old renovation worker entered the house to burgle it but was discovered by a resident.^[11] The burglar, afraid of being arrested, killed the 33-year-old housewife, her 8-year-old daughter, and her 4-year-old son.^[11] He strangled the three with wires and ties, and placed the bodies in the storage room and bathroom.^[11] He stole HK$4000 yuan,^[12] a gold chain,^[12] a diamond ring,^[12] golden cufflink,^[11] a bead necklace,^[12] a women's handbag ^[11] and a bank safety deposit box key.^[11] The murder was discovered at 20:10 when the male head of the household returned home from work.^[11] The incident was one of the most infamous events of that year.^[13] The suspect left Hong Kong on the day of the killing but returned on 5 October, and was arrested by the police on 16 October.^[11] On 14 June 1983, at his trial in the High Court of Hong Kong,^[12] the defendant denied three charges of murder and one charge of robbery.^[11] On 27 June, seven male jurors unanimously found him guilty.^[11] The judge, Michael Wong Kin Chow, sentenced the offender to death for three counts of murder,^[11] and to the maximum penalty for robbery of life imprisonment.^[11] The judge denounced the inhuman and cold-blooded nature of the killing,^[11] saying it was difficult to describe the behaviour using pen and ink,^[11] and the defendant must be completely isolated from society.^[11] In November 1966, Hong Kong had ceased carrying out the death penalty following its abolition in the United Kingdom. The sentence was, therefore, commuted and the defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Hong Kong judge.
• The Hong Lok Yuen International School was sued for adverse possession of land used by the Man family for ancestral halls that is used by the school as a playground and flower garden.^[14]
• In December 2014, a 33-year-old female tenant hanged herself in the toilet inside the house, making the house a death home, after which the unit became difficult to sell. It was put up for auction, with an initial reserve price of HK$33.8 million. The house was eventually sold for a 40% discount at HK$20 million.^[15]

Well-known residents

• Chiang Chen (蔣震)
• Gordon Siu (蕭炯柱)
• Ronny Tong (湯家驊)^[16]
• Sam Hui (許冠傑)^[17]
• Cecilia Cheung (張柏芝)^[18]
• Jordan Chan (陳小春)^[19]
• Leo Ku (古巨基)
• Miriam Yeung (楊千嬅)
• Chapman To (杜汶澤)^[20] and his wife Kristal Tin (田蕊妮)
• Mary Jean Reimer (翁靜晶)^[21]

Transportation

Hong Lok Yuen has a shuttle bus service (NR51) for residents that travels to Tai Wo station on the MTR East Rail line, Tai Po Town Centre and Tai Po Market.

The following buses also stop at Hong Lok Yuen bus stop located on the Tai Po Road - Tai Wo Section about 300 metres walk from the entrance to the estate:

64P, 64K, 65K, 73, 73A, 74C, 74D, N73

The following red minibuses also stop on Tai Po Road - Tai Wo Section.

• Sheung Shui to Castle Peak route^[22]
• Sheung Shui to Jordan Road route (24 hours)^[23]
• Sheung Shui to Mong Kok route (on demand)^[24]
• Sheung Shui to Causeway Bay route (night service)^[25]
• Kwun Tong to Lok Ma Chau route^[26]

District Council Seat

Because Hong Lok Yuen does not have sufficient population for a seat, it is in the same electorate as Sha Lo Tung, and other villages.

Year/Area	2000-2003	2004-2007	2008-2011	2012-2015	2016-2019	2020-2023
Hong Lok Yuen	P17 Hong Lok Yuen constituency

Note: There are other minor adjustments (including numbering) in the above main areas. Please refer to the relevant district board election constituency boundary map and entries.

See also

• Fairview Park (Hong Kong)
• Palm Springs (Hong Kong)

Further reading

• Nissim, Roger (January 2020). The First Estates: The Story of Fairview Park and Hong Lok Yuen with Documents. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 9789888528257.

References

1. "Hong Lok Yuen". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
2. 口頭傳統和表現形式 - 宗族口述傳說（泰亨文氏）
3. "聚寶之地 康樂園" (in Chinese). 東周網. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
4. Dwyer, D. J. (July 1986). "Land Use and Regional Planning Problems in the New Territories of Hong Kong". The Geographical Journal. 152 (2): 239.
5. 港工商日報, 1977-06-06 第3頁
6. "大埔康樂園座落地段靚 望樓景觀遜" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 蘋果日報. 9 June 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
7. 利嘉閣數據
8. "靚盤巡禮：大埔康樂園 200萬豪裝 擁千呎花園" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 蘋果日報. 12 January 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
9. 新鴻基地產網頁
10. "康樂園小鎮風情" (in Chinese). 太陽報. 21 July 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
11. 康樂園三屍命案 被告昨判處死刑 行劫罪名則判終身監禁 檢察官懷疑兇手行劫被識破後殺人滅口. Ta Kung Pao (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 28 June 1983. p. 8 – via HK Public Libraries MMIS.
12. 康樂園三屍劫殺案 定期下星期二聆訊 法庭選出全男性陪審團. 華僑日報 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 10 June 1983. p. 第四張第三頁 – via HK Public Libraries MMIS.
13. 大埔康樂園別墅發生 驚人三屍兇殺案 母與子女同與害. The Kung Sheung Daily News (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 29 September 1982. Retrieved 27 May 2015 – via HK Public Libraries MMIS.
14. 案件速遞 學校涉霸文氏祖堂地
15. "【女租客自殺】康樂園銀主凶宅呎價僅八千 低市價50%". 蘋果日報. 28 September 2017.
16. Hong Lok Yuen, SCMP, 3 July 2011
17. 許冠傑低價沽康樂園. Apple Daily (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Hong Kong. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
18. 張柏芝新居增設地牢唱K房. Sing Tao Daily (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 12 November 2001. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
19. 陳小春沽康樂園 帳面賺450萬. Ming Pao (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 31 August 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
20. 中環在線：杜汶澤爽購康樂園 $1,400萬屋 老婆冇名. Apple Daily (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 20 March 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
21. 受夠村屋龜速上網 翁靜晶：每戶俾一萬鋪光纖？. Apple Daily (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 7 November 2015. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
22. "青山道欽州街　—　大埔及上水". Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
23. 上水及大埔　＞　佐敦道
24. "旺角亞皆老街 — 大埔及上水". Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
25. "銅鑼灣鵝頸橋　—　大埔及上水". Archived from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
26. "觀塘同仁街　—　落馬洲". Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2019.