Sheung Kok

Was Sheung Kok always a cape? No. Sheung Kok in Shenzhen, nestled on the northern shoreline of Starling Inlet, has a history far richer than its current geography suggests. Sheung Kok wasn’t always defined by its coastal profile. The name itself, Sheung Kok, first appeared in 1863 in the records of the Ng Hakka clan. They described Sheung Kok as a bay, not a cape. Imagine the scene then: not the dramatic headland you see today, but a sheltered inlet bustling with fishing boats and early settlers. These Hakka and Hoklo people arrived in the 17th century, seeking refuge after the Qing dynasty’s “Great Clearance.” They built their lives on the shores of Mirs Bay, farming the land and fishing the waters. Sheung Kok, then a bay, was their lifeline. By the early 1800s, the growing population needed more farmland. Five villages invested in reclaiming land from the sea, gradually reshaping Sheung Kok. Around 1830, an alliance of ten villages formed the Shap Yeuk. They established Tung Wo Market at the newly reclaimed Sha Lan Ha. This new market gave Sheung Kok economic independence from Shenzhen’s older markets. A visitor in 1848 described Tung Wo Market as “a great market, quite given over to trade, newly built, and bustling with business.” Sheung Kok’s identity was shifting from a quiet bay to a thriving hub of commerce. In 1898, Sheung Kok became part of the British lease of the New Territories. However, Tung Wo Market remained in Chinese territory. This division created hardship for shopkeepers cut off from their ancestral villages. Their petitions to halt the lease, fearing increased taxes and logistical problems, went unanswered. This ultimately led to the decline of Tung Wo Market. Sheung Kok’s story in the 20th century is marked by a border with Mainland China. Chung Ying Street became the only unwalled section between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Today, even with recent efforts to promote tourism in Sheung Kok, Chung Ying Street remains largely restricted. The cape you see today, the easternmost point of Sheung Kok, bears a stone tablet inscribed with a poem. “The sun rises from the beach (Sha Tau), the moon hangs above the cape (Kok).” These words, written by Qing officials, encapsulate the transformation of Sheung Kok from a sun-drenched beach and a moonlit bay to the cape it is today.