Pok Fu Lam Village: A Historic Settlement at the Foot of Victoria Peak

Pok Fu Lam Village is an ancient village on Hong Kong Island. It was named Pok Fowlam in the "Xin'an County Chronicle" in 1819. The existing Pok Fu Lam Village covers an area of about four hectares and has a population of about 2,800. The buildings in the village are well-organized, and the stalls on the streets and alleys are unique. Local celebrations such as the Mid-Autumn Festival Fire Dragon Dance and the Li Lingxian Sister Festival reflect the sentiments of local residents. In addition, the rich historical architectural relics around Pok Fu Lam Village, such as the Hong Kong Dairy Farm (1885), Pokfulam (1875), Nazareth Printing House (1894, now the University Hall of the University of Hong Kong), and Taikoo Building (1885), make Pok Fu Lam Village a unique community in Hong Kong. This book is divided into four parts, mainly composed of articles written by experts and scholars, plus oral histories according to villagers. The first part is composed of works from different experts and scholars who explain the uniqueness of Pok Fu Lam Village in terms of history, religion, architecture, and art. The second to fourth parts contain 21 different stories of Pok Fu Lam Village residents, including seven stories in the second part aiming to show the different historical sections of Pok Fu Lam Village, such as the simple rural life and life during the Hong Kong occupation period. Nine stories in the third part are accounts on street vendors who are still doing business in the village, and through these stories, the street scene of the golden period from the 1950s to the 1980s is reconstructed; the last part is five stories about the attitudes of villagers towards life. How people of different ages and backgrounds adapt to life in this limited space and with limited resources. The villagers' stories are written in note form, and the villagers' oral stories are recorded in verbatim to preserve the authentic Cantonese flavor.