ROUTE 1: BIRDWATCHING X HISTORY
The Tai Tam Group of Reservoirs, built over a century ago, bears witness to a long and winding episode of the history of Hong Kong. Twenty-one of the waterworks that have stood the test of time are now listed as Declared Monuments in recognition of their heritage value. As we reflect on the past, most naturally, as opposed to hotfooting it through the area, we shall take our time for a leisurely walk and meanwhile appreciate the chorus of bird songs—over a hundred species of birds, including rare ones, have been recorded in the area. Let's start our journey and enjoy!
On a day too hot for doing anything strenuous outdoors, a perfect getaway from the city mundane was a special collective memory of many Hong Kong people—paddle boating or boat rowing for a few hours at Wong Nai Chung Reservoir Park by Tai Tam Reservoir Road. The former Wong Nai Chung Reservoir, of small capacity compared to those that were later built, was converted to the first water activities park by the government. However, the pleasure boat hiring service was suspended in 2017 due to revenue deficits. The park itself is still open to the public, and the glamour of the landscape continue to shine.
The battle at Wong Nai Chung Gap may be a chapter of history we know too little about. The strategic site was a major target of the marauding Japanese army in the Second World War, as they advanced from the north shore of Hong Kong Island. It was here that the Hong Kong Volunteers, in alliance with the British and Canadian forces, fought the fiercest resistance against the Japanese invaders, and were defeated with great casualties on both sides.
Today, only remnants of the antiaircraft batteries, pillboxes and magazines of the battleground stand as documents of the grim period, retelling the tears of years past.
The local water catchment areas, first designed to protect water supplies by restricting development and cultivating plantations, become ideal habitats for our feathered friends over time. In Tai Tam Country Park, over a hundred bird species including numerous rare species have been recorded. Do bring along your birding binoculars and high-powered camera to capture their beauty!
Even novice birders will not be disappointed. Spotted Dove (Spilopelia chinensis), Chinese Bulbul (Pycnonotus sinensis) and Cinereous Tit (Parus cinereus) are active in the open environment at Tai Tam Barbecue Site Number 2. You may even see the rarer Indochinese Yuhina (Yuhina torqueola) venturing out among the woods—just be patient as they are rather agile!
Built in 1888, Tai Tam Upper Reservoir is the second oldest reservoir in Hong Kong. As we walk close, the first structure to come into sight is the quaint English-style masonry bridge—and Tai Tam Upper Reservoir Masonry Aqueduct that is oriented at right angles to the bridge and crosses the once natural stream bed of Tai Tam Valley, which is exposed today only when the reservoir water level drops.
Passing the masonry bridge, we will arrive at the impressive Tai Tam Upper Reservoir Dam. Specially designed steps lead down to the bottom of the towering dam, where visitors can experience a different view as well as meeting the strikingly colourful Red-billed Blue Magpie (Urocissa erythroryncha) family!
Tai Tam Upper Reservoir connects to Tai Tam Byewash Reservoir through a catchwater named “clear water drainage”. When water is abundant, the two reservoirs become one. When there is even more water, it will overflow the dam of Tai Tam Byewash Reservoir into Sheung Tam Stream and eventually enter Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir.
By Tai Tam Byewash Reservoir road stands a one-metre tall memorial stone of much historic interest. On the stone surface there are inconspicuous inscriptions of “VICTORIA” and “羣帶” (Kwan leads). The story goes that soon after the British began governing Hong Kong, fisherman named Ah Kwan led the way for some British men to Sheung Wan. Hence the origin of the Kwan Tai Lo Milestone; or literally, “Kwan leads the way”.
As we near the barbeque site, we are greeted by the solos as well as choruses of performing songbirds. The tiny Fork-tailed Sunbird (Aethopyga christinae) sings a frequent metallic trill of "zwink-zwink" to attract its other half, while Swinhoe's White-eye (Zosterops simplex) has a high-pitched twitter. The larger Greater Necklaced Laughingthrush (Pterorhinus pectoralis) hides in the bushes to make whistled long and short calls. The birds, all jovial and reverberating, indeed meet their natural matches!
Leaving the barbeque site, we will continue on a shaded path in tranquility. As we progress, the increasingly roaring sound of running water announces its attraction to every aspiring landscape photographer who dreams of snapping moving water. Tai Tam Mound Stream, receiving water that plunges with unstoppable momentum from the southwest side of Mount Parker, makes for a perfect surreal portrait as cascades bounce off the rocks with boiling froth.
Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir Dam, the grandest among the Tai Tam Group of Reservoirs, is reputedly Asia's Number One Dam. Twelve spillways skirt the top of the gigantic dam, to allow flood water to cascade down in spectacular flows!
On the other side of Tai Tam Tuk Reservoir Dam is Tai Tam Harbour, which flood water flows into. Tai Tam Harbour Inner Bay, home to a rich profusion of mangroves and indeed the only surviving mangrove community on Hong Kong Island, is of high ecological value and has been designated as a Specific Site of Scientific Interest（SSSI）.
Getting close to the finishing point, as we pass through old villages by the dam, it is time to slow our pace and be invincibly ravished in the serenity—blanketed in different shades of green and blue from supernatural brushes—of Tai Tam Harbour.
And there is more to be startled by. Looking further out to sea, you may find a few archaeological wells partly submerged in the waters. They were surveying wells—technically termed caissons—used to prepare for the construction of the reservoirs. You may take a full look at a well when the tide is very low, exposing the well closest to the coast.
Our final stop is Tai Tam Tuk Raw Water Pumping Station, a century-old red-brick industrial building completed in 1904. It may surprise you that it is still in operation today—the oldest pumping station in use by the Water Supplies Department.
Steam-driven pumping was employed in the earliest days—and smoke from coal burning was discharged from the square chimney. Over the decades, the pumping station has undergone an upgrade from steam-driven to diesel-driven pumping. Today, the pumping station operates by computer-automated electric pumping. The square chimney is no longer needed, but is retained to mark the history of steam power.
