China Photos 20

One last walk. This one took me far north into the New Territories.
First stop, right across the road from the Fanling Station, is the Fung Ying Seen Koon Temple.
They say the women treat you fine On Fuk Street. (Ten points if you got that reference.)
The Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail went away from the more populated streets of Fanling. In fact there is no place to walk but in the road. This section is under construction and is only one lane for both directions. Kind of dangerous but there weren't many cars.
This archway was not mentioned in the trail information I had. I wonder what it originally led to.
Shek Lo was built in 1925 by the founder of Wah Yan College, Tsui Yan-sou. It has seen better days. I couldn't find any information online explaining why it is in ruins.
Large blocks of flats in the background behind these little farms.
I can't tell what she is growing.
Arriving in the village of Ma Wat Wai.
The entrance into the walled village was not friendly. That is a gun platform over the gate and it dates back to 1740.
Another walled village up the road is Lo Wai. It also has a gun platform over the entryway as well as a small shrine to the Earth God just inside.
Tang Chung Ling Ancestral Hall, originally built in 1525 and rebuilt around 1700, is the oldest ancestral hall in Hong Kong It is dedicated to the ancestors of the Lung Yeuk Tau Tang clan, not to be confused with the Wu-Tang Clan.
The last temple, I swear.
Inside Tin Hau Temple are these two bronze temple bells, one of which was cast in 1695 as a gift from the Tang clan to thank Tin Hau, protector of fishermen and one of Hong Kong's most popular deities, for adopting their sons. The other was cast in 1700 as an offering to gain the goddess's blessing for the young men of the clan when they travelled to the city to take the provincial examinations.
A golden dragon. That's probably the name of a thousand Chinese restaurants in America.
Since I wasn't able to take in a soccer match as I usually like to do on trips, I decided to try something new. Horse racing is very popular in Hong Kong and the races were running on Wednesday night.
The Happy Valley Racecourse.
The place was pretty busy. I had never been to a horse race before. To be honest it's about twenty minutes of waiting and two minutes of racing.
I missed the first race but was there to catch the second, third and fourth before I decided that was about enough excitement for one evening. These are the horses in the third race coming down the front stretch for the first time.
And there's your winner.
I don't gamble and I know almost nothing about horse racing, so it was all a bit odd to me.
I would guess that they walk the horses around before the race so that people can look at them and decided which one to bet on.
The fourth race started at the far end of the track and was not a complete circuit.
Of the three races I saw, this one was the largest margin of victory. Click here for a short video of the end of the race.
The happy owners I would think.
The sad thing they don't tell you about horse racing is that while winners of big races tend to be put out to stud, the losers get dipped in plaster and turned into colorful statues.

THURSDAY - HONG KONG

I had no need to leave the hotel early as my flight wasn't until 1:30, so I relaxed a bit while the kids at the nearby school did their running around on the basketball court or whatever they were doing.
I didn't have breakfast in the morning and I was a little hungry so I got a can of these at the airport. I have no idea what they were called but they were some sort if crunchy corn sticks.. So that's the end of that. There's nothing more to see here. Please go back to your homes.

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