Tai Lam Country Park

Tai Lam Country Park

Tai Lam Country Park (designated on 23 February 1979) is a country park in Hong Kong, covering 5370 hectares. Adjacent to Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun, Sham Tseng and Tsing Lung tau, the park is the second largest country park in Hong Kong. In the past, the soil erosion in Tai Lam Country Park was serious and it was a bad land. In the 1950s, the British Hong Kong government built Tai Lam Chung reservoir and carried out a large number of tree planting projects in the nearby mountains to reduce the problem of soil erosion. Now, the Tai Lam Country Park has become a habitat for wild animals, amphibians and reptiles.

geographical position

Tai Lam Country Park is located in the western part of the new territories of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and extends to Tsuen Kam Road in the East,

To the south is the area to the north of Tuen Mun Road, to the north are Shigang, Hebei reservoir approach channel and Datang, and to the West are Tuen Mun and Lanti reservoirs.

Park overview

Tai Lam Country Park is located in the Western New Territories, covering an area of 5370 hectares. It is the second largest country park in Hong Kong. The Tai Lam Country Park was founded in 1979. Except for a small area of porphyry in the northeast, almost all the soil in the park is eroded and decomposed granite. In Lianhua Mountain near Tsuen Kam Highway, tungsten and other mineral deposits were produced in those years. After the war, the price of minerals fell, and the mining industry stopped. However, abandoned mines are still everywhere. Visitors can imagine the mining situation at the mouth of abandoned mines.

The Tai Lam Chung reservoir, located in Tai Lam Country Park, started in 1951. It is the first reservoir built after the war. One of the largest projects, the main dam, was the most magnificent concrete dam in Hong Kong at that time, with a height of 150 feet. In order to connect the water supply to the whole Hong Kong water supply network, the Tai Lam Chung reservoir has water pipes all over the Kowloon Peninsula.

ecological environment

In the past, there was almost no grass in Tai Lam Country Park. The bare hills and deep ditches eroded by rain can be seen everywhere. With the construction of the Tai Lam Chung reservoir, afforestation began in 1952 to protect the reservoir catchment from erosion and soil erosion.

Main plants

Although the soil in the area is thin and barren, and it is often ravaged by mountain fires, after years of careful cultivation of the forest plan, Acacia formosana, red gum wood, masson pine, slash pine (Pinus elliottii) and Eucalyptus have covered most of the land in the park. With the natural succession and careful cultivation of plants, various native species such as oak, Phoebe and Lathyrus capsule have been cultivated Reproduction, flourishing growth, make the variety of plants more diversified.

Main animals

The lush forest area provides a habitat for various animals, birds, pangolins, leopards and muntjacs. A variety of amphibians can also be found in the area, such as the big green frog, the narrow mouthed frog, the thick skinned frog, the fringed frog, the black orbited toad and the Hong Kong turbulent frog, while the reptiles include the cross striped blunt headed snake, the side striped snake, the cobra, the saw tailed lizard tiger, the chameleon tree lizard, the grass dragon, the dragonfly, the South slide lizard and the lizard. Freshwater fish, such as marsupials and marsupials, also inhabit the rivers in the area.

Park facilities

Tai Lam Country Park, adjacent to Tuen Mun and Sham Tseng, is a popular spot for residents in the New Territories West. There are barbecue sites in Jialong to Hebei reservoir approach channel, Datang hill, and Tuen Mun Area at the 10th section of MacLehose path. Among them, Datang hill and Shigang barbecue sites are the most extensive, making them the hot spots for school travel in the area. Campsites are also available in Tin Fu Tsai, Ho Bei and Tsuen Kam Au.

In addition, in order to ease the traffic pressure of Yuen Long, Tin Shui Wai New Town, Fairview garden, California garden and Lok Ma Chau via Tuen Mun Road and Tate's Cairn Tunnel from 1994 to 1996, Sun Hung Kai Real Estate built Tai Lam Tunnel in the first half of 1995 and completed it in the first half of 1998.

In 2011, the agriculture, fisheries and Conservation Department, in collaboration with cross-country cycling groups, set up a cross-country cycling experience facility at the starting point of the cross-country cycling trail at Tai Lam Country Park. The facility is built with reference to the specifications of the sustainable use path of the international cross-country Cycling Association. It is divided into green path (suitable for beginners) and blue path (suitable for advanced technicians), each 200 meters long.

famous scenery

There are seven reservoirs in Tai Lam Country Park, the largest of which is Tai Lam Chung reservoir, followed by Ho Bei reservoir. These two reservoirs have beautiful environment and distinctive scenery. You can walk to the ninth and tenth sections of MacLehose path to connect the two reservoirs. Both routes are easy to follow, taking 2.5 hours and 5 hours respectively.

The Ninth Section of MacLehose path starts from Tsuen kam'ao on the side of Tsuen Kam Highway and heads towards the mountains in the southwest. On the way, you can see the river back pond in the deep valley on the right. This pond was once selected as one of the top ten landscapes in Hong Kong. Continue westward, pass through the dense forestation area and enter the 10th section of the road to Tianfu Tsai.

The tenth section of the trail is the longest one in the whole trail. It starts from Tian Fu Tsai, passes through the narrow valley, passes through the Jiqing bridge, and then detours to the North Bank of the Tai Lam Chung reservoir. You can clearly see the small islands in the reservoir, dotted with stars. This scene is named "Thousand Island Lake" by the hiking world. After that, the continuous forest path along the North Bank of the reservoir is connected to the Che road beside the water diversion channel and ends at Tuen Mun.

The best of Parks

Although the area of Tai Lam Country Park is less than that of South Lantau country park, it ranks second among all country parks in terms of the number of outing routes, with a total of 12. Among them, the most familiar are the ninth and tenth sections of MacLehose path, which is also the end of the path. Along the way, you can enjoy the beautiful forest planting area and Tai Lam Chung pond scenery.

In addition, Jialong forest trail and Jialong ancient road, from Tsuen kam'ao to Shigang, provide visitors with a variety of trees on the way. There are also information boards on the forest trail to let visitors know about the forest ecology. Tsuen Kam nature education path, Tai Lam nature education path, Tai Tong nature education path, Tai Tong tree path, and ho Bei reservoir Jiale path are all suitable routes for families. The Yuen Tsuen old road trail, Tai Lam Chung trail and Yuen Dun trail are for energetic visitors. In the west of the country park, there is a Tuen Mun trail built by Tuen Mun District Council, which provides 14 fitness stations for tourists and morning walkers to exercise.

Transportation guide

Tai Lam Chung country Trail - get off at Tai Lam Tunnel Entrance and transfer to the station (towards Yuen Long / urban area). Walk to the hillside for 10 minutes to reach the starting point of the trail. Then walk up the mountain road. Take bus 64M, 68m, 68x, 69m, 69x, 264m, 269b, 269c, 269d, 269M, 968, E34, 969 to the transfer station. For the return journey, walk along the Chelu of Qidu River to the direction of Datang management station, and then go down the mountain to the bus stop at the junction of Datang mountain road for about 1 hour. You can take bus K66 or red minibus to Yuen Long.

Tai Tong nature education Trail - starts and ends at Tai Tong. You can take bus K66 or red minibus in Yuen Long and walk up the road from the bus stop at the junction of Tai Tong Shan Road for about 30 minutes.

Tai Tang tree study Trail - starts and ends at Tai Tang. Take bus K66 or red minibus in Yuen Long and walk up the road from the bus stop at the junction of Tai Tang Shan Road for about 30 minutes.

Tai Lam nature education Trail - take bus K66 or red minibus in Yuen Long and walk up the hill from the bus stop at the junction of Tai Tong Shan Road for about 60 minutes. Back at qinglongtou, you can take buses 52X, 53 and minibuses 96, 96m from mountain road to Qingshan road.

Yuen Tsuen Road - take bus K66 or red minibus in Yuen Long and walk up the road from the bus stop at the junction of Tai Tong Shan Road. The return journey is about 20 minutes from hill road to Castle Peak Road. You can walk to Tsuen Wan MTR station, or take minibus 96 or red minibus to leave.

Round pier country Trail - take bus 52X, 53 or minibus 96, 96m to qinglongtou. Return to Tai Lam Chung Shui Tong North, walk along Che Lu to Tai Tang management station, then go down the hill to the bus stop at the junction of Tai Tang Shan Road, and take bus K66 or red minibus to Yuen Long.

Tsuen Kam nature education trail starts and ends at Tsuen Kam management station. You can take bus 51 to and from Tsuen Kam nature education trail.

Jialong forest path - take bus 51 to the KMB Country Park Station on Tsuen Kam Road. Return to the Jialong section of the Pat Heung approach. Walk about 15 minutes to Tsuen Kam Road. Take bus 51 or minibus 72 to leave.

Jialong road - take bus No.51 to jiuba Country Park Station on Tsuen Kam Road. The return journey is at Jialong section of water diversion road in Pat Heung. It takes about 15 minutes to walk to Tsuen Kam Road. You can take bus 51 or minibus 72 to leave.

Section 9 and 10 of MacLehose path - take bus 51 to Tsuen Kam Au. At the end of Tuen Mun section 10, you can go down hill road to Ho Fu Tong / cup ferry light rail station, or walk to Tuen Mun city centre. You can take light rail 614, bus 60m, 60x, 61x, 62x, 961 to leave.

Tuen Mun fitness trail - take no.614 LRT, 60m, 60x, 61x, 62x, 961 buses to Ho Fook Tong / Pui to LRT station and walk up the 10th section of MacLehose trail. For the return journey, go downhill at King Fung path and leave at King Fung light rail station.

Address: Hong Kong, China

Longitude: 114.050025

Latitude: 2

Chinese PinYin : Da Lan Jiao Ye Gong Yuan