Introduction
• On the 10th May, our class went to Kam Tin to
learn more about the land-use planning there.
We have three aims of this trip. Firstly, we want
to examine the changing rural land uses in Kam
Tin area,. Secondly, is to identify the hierarchy of
different settlement functions in Kam Tin area.
And lastly is to investigate the characteristics of
farming system in Kam Tin area.
• After working in there, adding the knowledge
that we learn from our textbook as well as our
own knowledge, we make the following result.
Content
Farming In Tai Kong Po
Farming System Characteristic
Favorable Factors
Constraints
Abandoned Farm
Rural Development
The 3 Market Towns
Favourable Factors
Rural Settlement Change
Our Reflection
Special Terms
Farming in
Tai Kong Po
Farming System
(input, process & output)
A farm can be view as a system which has inputs,
processes and outputs. And the farming system can
be further classified as inputs, processes and
outputs. The following are the inputs, processes and
outputs are the things that we can find in Tai Kong
Po.
Firstly, let us talk about the input system. Both physical inputs
as well as cultural inputs can be founding in Tai Ko Po.
Physical Input
Climate
warm temperature
sufficient rainfall and sunshine
Land
gentle relief or slope
Lowland
Water supply from streams and underground
water
Cultural Input
Labour---farmer
Transport---near to different secondary road
Market---products can be send to the market
for sell
Different processes and outputs can also be found in Tai Kong
Po
Processes
– The processes included sowing, ploughing, planting,
watering, weeding and harvesting Farmers can improve
land conditions by fallowing
Outputs
– After a certain period of time, crops are ready for the
market. Farmers will sell most of the produce in the
market and they will also consume the product
themselves.
– Some of the farming systems also produce waste.
When waste is passed on to the surroundings, it often
results in pollution e.g. washing of pesticides from fields
to streams.
Characteristic Of The Farming Activities In Tai
Kong Po
There are many different ways to classify farming. One approach is
based on the way in which a farming system is organized.
• The intensity of land use in Tai Kong Po is extensive farming. The
input per land area is low, not much capital and labor is used for
farming. The farm size in Tai Kong Po is about 100 m square, it is
very small. Also, the level of mechanization is low. They have no
evidence of farm mechanization except sprinklers.
• The types of crops in Tai Kong Po mainly are vegetables and
fruits. For example, there are spring onion, banana, longan and
litchi. Most of the crops are for sale. The use of output is mainly
commercial farming.
• While some of the output is subsistence farming, that means
some of the crops are for self-consumption.
Factors Favorable For Farming
Activities Here?
There are several factors that favorable for the farming in Tai Ko
Po.
Human factors
– Transport
• Farmers need transport systems to send the
produce to markets.
• There are several secondary roads which lead to
the main road. As the accessibility is higher,
produces are easily transport to the market.
Natural Factors
– Climatic factors
• Climate largely controls what crops we can grow and the
potential yield of a field.
• Crops grow well in Tai Kong Po because:
– 1. Temperature is above 6˚C, the longer the frost-free
period, the longer the growing season;
– 2. There is adequate rainfall, with little seasonal variation
– 3. It is not too windy;
– 4. There are no extreme weather conditions such as
torrential rain, frost etc.
– Land factor
• The soil, relief and drainage of the lands affect the types of
crop grown, method of the farming and the production of the
field.
• Relief
– The altitude of Tai Kong Po is not so high. It is favourable
for farming
– The land in Tai Kong Po is very gentle. It favoutable for
farming.
Constraints Faced By The Farmers
Here
• The pest destroys the farmland.
• Also there are some water problems. For
example, water pollution, and because of
the polluted water, there is a problem of
lake of water.
• On the other hand, the farmland haven’t
got good sewage discharge system.
Serious flooding may occurred.
What are the measures the farmers
used to deal with the constraints?
The farmers also faces
many competitions, this
is also a constraints to
the farmers. To solve the
problems, farmers can
change to organic
farming to provide
healthier food for
attracting customers and
gain more money.
• Farmers can solve the problem of lack of
water by irrigation. This provides a reliable
water source for farmland. There are many
irrigation methods, such as building of
large-scale water projects. Dams can be
built to store water, which is transported to
farmers by canals and aqueducts.
• Apart from using pesticides, farmers can
use some organic method to get rid of pest.
Using fewer pesticides but adapting to
organic method can also cause less
pollution.
Constraints Faced By The Farmers Here
- - - Flooding
Flood Prevention Measures In Tai Kong Po
• Tai Kong Po has been using sprinkler systems as the
irrigation method. When the irrigation canals are blocked
by rubbish or stuck with waste, flooding would occur. To
solve the problem, several drainage channels are
successfully operating.
• Also, widening and straightening the Kam Tin River have
reduced the risk of flooding.
• The government has been working out to develop river
training schemes so as to reduce the risk of flooding.
Three river training projects are under construction in the
Kam Tin basin in order to prevent flooding.
• Constant maintenance and cleaning of existing stream,
river courses and drainage systems are under operation,
the farmland would not suffer serious flooding.
Abandoned Farm
During the trip, we found many abandoned farm in Tai Kong Po. Why
there are so many abandoned farm there?
• As the farmers who own
some farmland close to
the main route think that
the government will soon
buy their land for develop,
then they are not willing to
farm anyone. Therefore
the farmland will become
abandoned farms.
Methods To Solve The Problem
• The farmlands, which are classified as abandoned land,
would not be used. To make better use of these abandoned
farms, farmers would use them as temporary car-repair
workshops. Besides, the abandoned land can be used as
container storage space.
• By the speculation of abandoned land, farmers could even
attempt to make a profit from it.
• Abandoned land can be used as industrial land use. Such
as developing industrial estate.
Rural
Development
•
Apart from visiting the farm, we had also visited
some town in Tai Kong Po. The aim of this is letting us
to know more about the rural development in Tai Kong
Po. We discovered that different towns there can be
classified as different level. And as the rural
development is so rapid there, we all agree that we
may not have the chance to see the same things and
view there.
We had visited three market towns on that day
The 3 Market Towns- Shek Wu Tong, Kam Tin Market
Town & Tai Kong Po.
Things can be found in Skek Wu Tong
Restaurant
Car beauty service
Store
LPG Store
Hair stylist
Glossary
Property Agencies
Tertiary Industries settlement
Things can be found in Tai
Kong Po
Things can be found in Kam Tin
Market
Store
Jockey club
Supermarket
Town gas
Bar
Car trading
company
Village
Bakery
Property
agencies
Housing
Post-office
Cosmetology
Beauty
Water and
electricity
engineering
Store
Rural settlement
In Shek Wu Tong and Kam Tin Market settlements are
mainly shops and tertiary industries. These area are
also built along the main road and the population size
as well as density is much larger. In addition, the
employment structure is mainly tertiary industries and
the settlement pattern is nucleated. All in all, many
different kind of functions can be found in these two
areas.
In Tai Kong Po, less shops and tertiary industries can be
found, places are mainly for living and farming. It far
away from the main route and the population size and
density are much smaller. Tertiary production can
hardly be found there. All in all, fewer kinds of
function can be found there.
Conclude with the above point, we can say that
the Kam Tin Market Town is the highest in
order
• Kam Tin Market Town
– As Kam Tin Market Town is along the main route the
transportation accessibility here is higher.
– Therefore it is convenient for the people who live here
and so there are many shops along this place
– The settlement pattern in Kam Tin Market Town is
nucleated while in Tai Kong Po the settlement pattern
is isolated
– All these are making Kam Tin Market Town be more
flourishing.
Favourable Factors That Encourage
Rural Development Here
• Environmental factors
– Fresh air & Less Pollutions
• As there is less pollution in the
rural areas, the air is
comparatively fresher there. It
attracts many people moving in.
– Simple lifestyle
• Simple and peaceful lifestyle can
be found there. It attracts people
who hate busy life to move in.
– Large piece of land
• There are large pieces of flat
land. People who are afraid of
crowd environment in city may
like to move in the rural areas.
• Economic factor
– Lower land price
• The price of land there is comparatively
lower, so the price of houses are also
lower. People are also interested in
opening there shops there because of the
low land price.
• It also encourage the property agencies
here.
From the trip and the internet, we know that there is an
increasing number of motor car services companies,
wood “factories” & property agencies in Kam Tim.
We have find several reasons for this situation.
• Motor can services
companies. Wood ‘factories’
need a lot of areas to run their
business. The land price in
Kam Tin is lower than the land
price in urban areas. So the
motor car services companies
and wood ‘factories’ tends to
buy the land and start their
business in Kam Tin. This
resulting the increasing
number of motor car services
companies and wood
‘factories’.
• For the property agencies, there are a lot
of plenty areas in Kam Tin. Quite a lot of
people like to buy land or house in there
because the land price is much lower
than that urban areas. So it has a big
potential to develop real business.
as a result in increasing of property
agencies.
Rural Settlement & Land Uses
Change In The Furture
• Reduction in size and numbers of farmland.
– Repaid population and economic growth in Hong Kong
have resulted in the expansion of urban areas. This
expansion has occurred in the surrounding rural areas.
Fewer and smaller farmland can be found in the rural
area, the land use will change from farming to tertiary
industries, e.g. shops.
• More abandoned land
– Because young people are unwilling to work as farmers,
a lot of farmland in Hong Kong has been abandoned.
For example, in Kam Tin, some of the abandoned is
being used as temporary car-repair workshops or
container storage spare. Some of the farmers attempt to
make a profit from the land through speculation.
• Building new town
– The repaid rise in population and economic
development has increased demands for urban land.
Since the 1970s, the government has stored to develop
new towns in the rural areas. Besides having public
housing estates, there are also shopping centers
industrial areas, social facilities and large town parks in
these new towns.
• Developing low-density residential areas
– As land prices in rural areas are cheaper, and the
transport network in Hong Kong has been improved,
private developers have became interested in
developing the sub-urban into low-density residential
areas. Hong Lok Yuen and Maring Cave are examples
of these areas.
• Building industrial estates
– Some rural areas have been converted into industrial
land use and large industrial estates, such as Yuen Long
Industrial Estate.
– The above changes are the effects of urban sprawl,
urban encroachment, urban sprawl and suburbanization.
• Urban sprawl
– This refers to the unplanned expansion of urban areas
into nearby rural areas. It often occurs along the main
roads. Areas where urban sprawl occurs have mixed
urban land uses and farmland. It causes a reduction in
the amount of farmland and a decline in rural
environmental conditions.
Special Terms that
describe the rural
development
• Urban encroachment
– This refers to the situation in which urban population and economic
activitieexpand in to rural areas. The original land uses in rural
areas are changed to urban land uses. To rural, the loss of farmland
is an evidence of urban encroachment. To urban people, however,
this phenomenon is simply urban sprawl, a necessary part of urban
development.
• Suburbanization
– Suburbanization originally referred to the process in which more
and more middle-income groups moved to the suburbs. However,
suburbs in Hong Kong attract not only middle-income groups.
Therefore, suburbanization is a widely-used term for the process of
people moving from the city center to the suburbs. It is a neutral
term with no positive or negative meaning.
Our Reflection
• In this field trip, our group has learned lots of things. They are not
only the geography’s knowledge, also the teamwork. We are happy
about that. We went to some check points and have an exploration.
They are an observatory in Tsuen Kam Road, Shek Wu Tong, Tai
Kong Po and Kam Tin Market Town respectively.
• In the observatory in Tsuen Kam Road, we needed to use the
compass and map to find out where we were, here are some map
reading skills. It is very interesting. This is the first time to use the
compass and the map together. As one of our group member know
that the degree on the compass is to use to find the bearing of a
point with the rope on the compass. We think it is useful when we
lose one’s way.
• In Shek Wu Tong, we walked a while. In there, it looks like the
mainland. Some buildings are still building. The buildings are very
short. And the store and salon are look very old.
•
•
•
Tai Kong Po has lots of farmland. The farmland is very small in area and
there are lots of them are abandoned farms. In there, we found a lot of
problems. We can guess why there are lots of abandoned farms. One of the
reasons is the water pollution. It makes the farmer can’t do farming in there.
Even they can farm, the process won’t be good. Also, Tai Kong Po is less
density of people. Maybe they left there for a while because they can’t do
self-sufficiency. So they need to go to the town and have a job to live. When
we were walking, one of our group members fell down. Luckily, she did not
get hurt.
Finally, we went to Kam Tin Market Town. It is better than Tai Kong Po a lot.
Although it is a small town, it still has a lot of shops. For example
supermarket, restaurant, salon, post-office, jockey club etc. So it has more
people to live in Kam Tin Market Town than Tai Kong Po. It has a funny shop.
After we watched the signboard of the shop, we think it is Seven-Eleven.
But we were wrong. It is Eleven-Eleven.
All in all, we learned lots of things in this field trip. They are some
geography’s knowledge, map reading skills and teamwork. Also, when we
had our trip, the weather was very good. It was sunny. So we can see a lot
of good views. They were beautiful. We hope we will have the field trip in
the future.
The End