Tung Chung Fort

Tung Chung Fort was built in 1832 on the northern coast of Lantau to control the sea approaches and the trade passing through them, and it survives as a compact rectangle of granite walls with an arched gate, a parade ground and six muzzle-loading iron cannons still mounted along the seaward side, several of them cast in the eighteenth century. It was declared a monument in 1979. Behind the walls the buildings now house a village school, so the site is used rather than preserved as a shell. A smaller battery of the same period stands nearby, and the old village of Ma Wan Chung with its stilt houses is a short walk away.

What you actually see

• Six mounted cannons - iron guns still on the seaward wall.
• The granite gate and walls - the 1832 fort largely intact.
• A school inside the walls - the compound still in use.
• Ma Wan Chung stilt houses - the old village nearby.

When to go

October to April. One hour. The interior is used by a school, so respect the working parts. Combine it with Tai O or the Ngong Ping cable car from Tung Chung.

Honest expectations

It is very small and takes half an hour. Interpretation is minimal. The setting is now surrounded by new development on the Tung Chung side. Buses out to it are infrequent.

Nearby

Tung Chung is east; Tai O lies west along the coast.