27 January 2024 - History Club Field Trip 2

The trip to Yim Tin Tsai was amazing as the weather that day was wonderful and relaxing. At the same time, students were about to learn the history and stories behind this place. Yim Tin Tsai is a relatively small Hakka island near Sai Kung, and during the times of its full bloom, this small island was filled with 300 people of the Chan’s family coming from the southern part of China.

Besides the relatively large population on such a small island, what is amusing about this small island is that during the 19th century, Father Joseph came to this particular island to spread their faith in Catholicism and successfully made almost everyone a Catholic. After this event, the chapel of St Joseph was built in order for the villagers to attend mass. The spread of Catholicism here was very successful as Yim Tin Tsai became the first island and village to have a church and so many believers.

Sometime later, the villagers moved out and Yim Tin Tsai became an abandoned island, but luckily in recent years, acts of revitalization allowed Yim Tin Tsai to be a tourist attraction for tourists to visit and learn about the history of the village and to also enjoy the gorgeous scenery in the offshore of Hong Kong.

Besides learning about the history of Yim Tin Tsai, we were also able to find lots of artworks around the island. In order to revitalize the island and attract more visitors, Yim Tin Tsai is included as one of the attractions of the Sai Kung Art Festival to display various artworks, adding more colors to the island with rich history.

Overall, everyone had a blast visiting Yim Tin Tsai and it has allowed us to find out about the history behind this tiny island through Mr. Thomas Ma’s detailed yet fascinating explanation along the tour!

S5A Alena Chow & S5A Natasha Shaip