A spring mist envelops Sha Tau Kok on the day I visit, creating a serene atmosphere distinctly different from the busy city I’d left earlier that day. A 20-minute taxi ride from Tai Po takes me to the town’s checkpoint, where I show a permit I’d applied for online before entering one of the most mysterious corners of Hong Kong.

“The sun rises over the beach (sha tau), the moon hangs over the cape (kok)”, reads the old poem engraved onto a stone standing at Sha Tau Kok’s easternmost point. The words capture the town’s natural beauty and, as the story goes, gave it its name.

Since 1951, this small coastal segment of the territory’s northeastern corner has been off-limits to the public – one of the last few “frontier closed areas” that border the Chinese Mainland. Now, as part of a push to promote local tourism, the fishing town permits up to 1,000 daily visitors, who’ll find a curious time capsule to explore.

On weekends, tourists and visitors to Hong Kong come to see Sha Tau Kok’s pier – Hong Kong’s longest at 280m – and fill restaurants serving the freshest catch. Visitors can take home dried seafood, cha guo rice cakes and other small souvenirs from the shops that have flourished with the influx of newcomers.

Currently, Sha Tau Kok has a population of about 4,000 – largely Hakka and Hoklo fishermen whose families have been established in the area since the 1960s, when the intensity of Typhoon Wanda drove the inlet’s community of boat-dwellers ashore.

As the area’s population swelled, the government built a public housing estate which has become known for its photogenic, brightly coloured, low-rise blocks.

Lee Yi-keung is one of the newer arrivals, however: the eco-tour company founder relocated here from Kowloon more than a decade ago, after an encounter with Sha Tau Kok’s village chief in 2012 inspired him to learn more about the town. “I really enjoy how spacious and quiet Sha Tau Kok is. Once I moved in, I didn’t want to leave. I started to explore more about the local culture, architecture and environment, which I came to appreciate.” He has enjoyed seeing the town gradually open up to outsiders: “Sha Tau Kok was quiet a decade ago – even a bit lifeless.”

But now, things have changed. I meet Lee at Sha Tau Kok Story House, the small centre he founded in 2017, where artefacts, photos and stories shared or donated by residents are on show, preserving the area’s history as its population ages. “The older generation doesn’t share, and the younger doesn’t ask, so many stories remain unknown,” he says.

Story House inhabits one of Hong Kong’s few remaining examples of Cantonese arcade-style shophouse architecture, characterised by gabled roofs and ceramic tiles. It sits on San Lau Street, which would have once been a bustling trade point between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland.

As well as vintage perforated metal gates, which inspired Story House’s logo, the street retains old-style T-shaped road signs, of which only about 80 remain in Hong Kong. With five in Sha Tau Kok alone, they’re worth seeking out during a visit.

After a decade living here, Lee now considers himself a Sha Tau Kok local and a custodian of its past: especially now that the area is entering a new era. As he guides me through the streets, he’s greeted by his neighbours. “I don’t want Sha Tau Kok to become just a tourist spot. I hope to promote cultural and in-depth tours,” he says. Lee plans to use San Lau Street as a base to gather cultural figures and artists, host community events and inject vitality into Sha Tau Kok.

As a visitor to the town, I remind myself to respect its residents and culture as their home sheds its veil of mystery to reveal its vibrant past.

Our day ends at the Wo Hang Tsuen, the seat of the Hakka Li clan and an inland village where streams and rice fields create an idyllic scene. “This place reminds me of my childhood – days spent playing by the river, catching fish, filled with happiness,” says Lee. Moving to Sha Tau Kok may have been the start of a new life for Lee, but he’s found a way to keep treasured memories of the past alive.

Getting there

Private vehicles are prohibited in Sha Tau Kok. So how do you get to Sha Tau Kok? You can take the 78K minibus from Fanling MTR station exit A2, or take a taxi from exit C. Upon arrival, visitors must show their electronic or printed permit with a form of identification. Application quotas apply – check the calendar on the permit application page for availability.

Apply for a Tourism Closed Area Permit here .