Kat Hing Wai  is a famous Punti walled village in Yuen Long District of Hong Kong. It often mistakenly believed to be Hakka, whose people have similar traditions.[citation needed] However the Punti people were from Southern China and the first to settle in Hong Kong. Kat Hing Wai's residents speak the Cantonese dialect Weitou dialect, rather than Hakka.[citation needed] Popularly known as Kam Tin, from the name of the area, it is home to about 400 descendants of the Tang Clan, one of the "Five Great Clans" in the territory, who built the village back in the 17th century.[citation needed] Three other walled villages, Wing Lung Wai, Tai Hong Wai , and Kam Hing Wai are located nearby and were built around the same time.

History

   Kat Hing Wai was established during the reign of Chenghua (1464-1487) of the Ming Dynasty. The walls enclosing Kat Hing Wai were built by Tang Chue-yin  and Tang Chik-kin in the early years of the Kangxi reign (1661-1722) of the Qing Dynasty.

In April 1899, the residents of Kam Tin rebelled against British Colonial rule. They defended themselves in Kat Hing Wai. After several unsuccessful attacks by British troops, the iron gates were blasted open. The gates were then shipped to London for exhibition. After the demand of the Tang Clan in 1924, the gate was eventually returned in 1925 by the 16th governor, Sir Reginald Stubbs.

Features

   Kat Hing Wai is a rectangular (100 m × 90 m) walled village. As a family stronghold, Kat Hing Wai has served the Tangs well through the centuries, protecting the residents against bandits, rival clans, and wild tigers. In the Qing Dynasty, a five-metre high blue brick wall and four cannon towers were added to defend against bandits. Today, the village is still completely surrounded by 18-inch-thick walls,[citation needed] outside which are the remains of a moat. However, most houses within the walls have been rebuilt in recent years. There is only one narrow entrance, with a pair of iron gates that were once removed to Britain when the villagers rebelled against British colonial rule and of which only one was eventually returned. The current standing gates are a mismatched pair, the left hand side originally belongs to Tai Hong Wai and was given to Kat Hing Wai as a gift upon the gates return.