Listen closely. We are about to explore the largest public cemetery in Hong Kong. It is named Heung Shek Cemetery. This vast site opened in 1950. Cemeteries on Hong Kong Island were becoming full.
Heung Shek Cemetery spans over 222 hectares. That is a lot of space for both full burials and cremated remains. The cemetery sits in a hilly area. The elevation ranges from 100 to over 300 meters.
The government planned a huge new cemetery in Fanling in 1937. Urban cemeteries were filling up fast. Urban land was too valuable to keep for the dead. The distance made a railway the most cost-effective solution. Neither the Lion Rock Tunnel nor the Fanling Highway had been built yet. The road journey from Kowloon was slow and expensive.
From 1950 to 1983, a special railway carried bodies here. The Wo Hop Shek Branch Line ran from Hung Hom Station to Wo Hop Shek Cemetery. It was roughly 950 meters long. The branch line split off the East Rail Line. It went directly to the cemetery’s entrance. The train cars were specially made to carry coffins. They were stacked two high.
At Hung Hom Station, the railway built a depot for the dead bodies. They also built a farewell pavilion for funeral ceremonies. Corpses from Hong Kong Island came to Hung Hom by boat. Then, they traveled by train to Wo Hop Shek.
The decision to build Wo Hop Shek Cemetery was not popular. The government meant to replace all public urban cemeteries. Some private cemeteries were to close. Graves would be moved to Wo Hop Shek.
The government offered free coffin transport to ease public anger. They also offered discounted train tickets for families. Despite this, many people left bodies with Urban Services Department workers.
On grave sweeping festival days, the railway ran many special trains. They ran from Tsim Sha Tsui and Yau Ma Tei Stations. Special buses linked Fanling Station and Wo Hop Shek Cemetery. By 1958, crowds were huge. Police asked the railway to build crowd control barriers.
The Wo Hop Shek Branch Line closed after the Ching Ming Festival in 1983. The railway switched from diesel to electric trains. Demand for the service had fallen. The Lion Rock Tunnel opened in 1967 reducing road travel times. More people chose cremation as well.
Today, the branch line is gone. It was dismantled to make way for housing. Finding space for the dead in Hong Kong remains a challenge.
Within Heung Shek Cemetery, find the Gallant Garden. This is a burial site for public servants killed on duty. It opened in 1996. It sits in the northwest corner of the cemetery.
Remember Ip Man rests here. He was a famous martial artist. He now rests in Hong Kong’s largest public cemetery, Heung Shek Cemetery.