inside the forbidden zone

Ha Shan Kai Wat, which is located 5–6km northeast of the eastern edge of Fanling, is a distinctly unfriendly village. During the past three years, many of the villages that I pass through when cycling have displayed polite notices asking visitors to wear a mask, but Ha Shan Kai Wat has this:

This photo was taken from the end of an unnamed road that branches off Ping Che Road. I didn’t come this way until 2016, when I learned that the ‘frontier closed area’ status of a region to the north had been rescinded, and I started the development of a bike ride that I named ‘the final frontier’. The route that I initially worked out passed through this village, ignoring the ‘no cycling’ sign by passing to the right before reaching the sign and continuing across the front of the village to reach a good path that led to another road after about 200 metres.

However, another hazard that I had to contend with here was a psychotic dog that attacked cyclists, including me on several occasions. The village must have received complaints though, because after a while it was always tied up whenever I came this way. It was tied with a long rope, about 15 metres, and it would launch itself at full gallop towards me whenever I cycled through the village. Of course, I knew how long the rope was, and I made a point of being just out of reach. It may have been an out-and-out psycho, but it was also stupid. It must have been seriously uncomfortable to be pulled up by the rope, attached to its collar, when running at full speed.

Anyway, a couple of years ago, I worked out an alternative route that avoided Ha Shan Kai Wat completely. Not because of the dog, or the general unfriendliness of the villagers. My alternative, which involved a succession of narrow paths, was simply more fun! So why have I bothered to describe a place that I no longer cycle through? Well, as part of my attempt to maintain my fitness level while I’m unable to ride a bike, Paula and I have been going on regular long walks, and some of those walks have taken us through Ha Shan Kai Wat. And in addition to the road and the exit path that I described above, there is a third way into the village that brings you into the ‘private area’, with no sign that tells you to keep out.

And in order to reach the road if you enter the village from this direction, it’s necessary to walk along quite a narrow alleyway (the one behind the blue sign in the photo above). This alleyway has a row of three traditional vernacular houses, which still retain the traditional painted plaster mouldings that I’ve seen above the doorways and under the eaves of similar buildings elsewhere. Naturally, I took photos—surreptitiously, fully expecting someone to see us, although no-one did. The following photos were taken from right to left as we walked along:

Although this mural is in poor condition, it appears to show a traditional Chinese rural scene.

This is the moulding above the right-hand door:

The dirty area above the images appears to be a poor attempt at repair, so I’m pleased to have captured this before it deteriorates further.

The next image appears to be a mixture of painting and moulding (the trees on the right are definitely moulded):

The three-storey building appears to have been painted over a group of horsemen.

And this is the wall above the central doorway:

It is clearly in much better condition than the mouldings above the other doors, and the wall below has been plastered and overpainted with fake brickwork.

The third mural is in a poor state, although I can still identify a small building at the top, left of centre:

The left-hand doorway also shows the signs of a clumsy repair job:

…although the painted images are still in quite good condition.

And that’s the hidden secrets of Ha Shan Kai Wat. I don’t expect to find myself venturing down any more alleyways here, although there could well be more traditional houses elsewhere in the village.