| Fo Tan | |||||||||||||
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 View of Fo Tan | |||||||||||||
| Chinese | 火炭 | ||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | fire charcoal | ||||||||||||
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Fo Tan (Chinese: 火炭; Cantonese Yale: Fótaan) is an area of Sha Tin District, New Territories, Hong Kong. It was developed as a light industrial area, but this activity has declined markedly in recent years. There are residential areas to the east, alongside the MTR line, and in the foothills to the west.
Etymology
Fo Tan is located around a river, the Fo Tan Nullah. Historically, a beach was revealed when the water receded. The area thus became known as "river beach" (Chinese: 河灘). In Hakka, this was pronounced "Fo Tan". It was later mistakenly called "Fire Beach" (Chinese: 火灘) due to similarities in pronunciation. This has further changed into "Fire Charcoal" (Chinese: 火炭) which is in current use, again due to similarities in pronunciation.
Location
North East South West To the south is Sha Tin New Town, with the small community of Wo Che in between. To the north is Kau To and the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Nearby to the east is Sha Tin Racecourse while across the Shing Mun River is City One Shatin.
Artistic community
Since 2001, as most industrial businesses have closed and moved to mainland China, more than 70 units in the utilitarian industrial blocks have reopened as artists' studios, creating a vibrant if well hidden local arts scene. Every January, a festival, Fotanian - Open Studio Programme, sees many of the studios open to the public. Guided walks lead visitors to these normally private working studios, which encompass a wide range of media and styles such as ceramic and floral design. Fo Tan was chosen for artist spaces because the ceilings of the buildings are high and because it is in the middle of the New Territories.
Housing
Public housing estates
Private housing estates
Private housing estates in Fo Tan include:
Villages
There are originally 24 Hakka villages. Villages in Fo Tan include:
Economy
A.S. Watson Group has its head office in the Watson House (Chinese: 屈臣氏中心) in Fo Tan.
Education
Fo Tan is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 91. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money); no government schools are in this net.
Schools in Fo Tan:
- Sha Tin College
- Sha Tin Junior School
- Jockey Club Ti-I College
- Hong Kong Sports Institute
- Chinese University
Transportation
- Fo Tan station on the East Rail line
- Buses and minibuses
- taxis
See also
References
- Fotan art district grows in Hong Kong’s industrial area - Art Radar Asia
- Fotan Florist - Bloom November
- Batten, John (2013-07-11). "Creative forces: Kitty Ko's artwork is motivated by everyday things". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2019-04-18.
- "Contact Us Archived 2012-09-10 at the Wayback Machine." A.S. Watson Group. Retrieved on 25 October 2012. "Watson House, 1-5 Wo Liu Hang Road, Fo Tan, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong"
- "聯絡我們 Archived 2012-09-10 at the Wayback Machine." A.S. Watson Group. Retrieved on 25 October 2012. "香港新界火炭禾寮坑路1-5 號屈臣氏中心"
- "POA School Net 91" (PDF). Education Bureau. Retrieved 2022-10-09.
| Urban areas of Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories | |||||||||||
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| Kowloon |
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| New Kowloon |
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| New Territories |
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| Official place names are summarized from "Geoinfo Map" of Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, "Hong Kong Guide" of Lands Department, "Hong Kong Guide Book" of Universal Publications Ltd. and "Areas and Districts" of Rating and Valuation Department. M：Narrow meaning of urban areas KL: Kowloon Peninsula at the south of Boundary Street NKL: Former New Territories area at the north of Boundary Street and at the south of Lion Rock 1: Common definition (1) 2: Common definition (2) 3: Common definition (3) 4: Areas not adopting small house concessionary right of indigenous inhabitants 5: Jurisdiction area of former Urban Council 6: Definition of "Metropolitan Area" of Planning Department 7: Jurisdiction area of Urban Renewal Authority 8: Unique operating area of urban taxis 9: "Urban" (9a) and "Extended Urban" (9b) areas defined by Hong Kong Housing Authority 10: Definition of Urban rates 11: Hospital cluster belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon 12: Police region belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon 13: Regions having 999-year land lease 14: Geographical Constituency in Hong Kong Legislative Council belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon 15: Regional Education Office belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon 16: Primary One Admission School Net belongs to Hong Kong or Kowloon | |||||||||||
22°23′49″N 114°11′45″E / 22.39694°N 114.19593°E / 22.39694; 114.19593
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