Echoes from Up and Down the Nam Chung Valley:
Fundraising Concert and Themed Guided Tour
中文版 in Chinese：
南涌「山下山上的鳴奏」籌款音樂會暨社區專題導賞2024
Signup HERE.
Located in the northeastern Shataukok district of the New Territories, Nam Chung, a Hakka village, has a history of nearly four centuries. The efforts of the five major Nam Chung surnames (Yeung, Cheng, Law, Lee, Cheung) and their ancestors have created the unique natural ecology and cultural-historical landscape of Nam Chung today. It also bears witness to changes in the contemporary New Territories and Hong Kong as a whole. However, many stories of this place remain unknown.
Down the Valley
The eco-community in Nam Chung took root in 2013. To understand its history, members of the eco-community launched the Nam Chung Oral History Project in 2017. Through interviews with villagers, site visits, and data collection, they reconstructed the history of how the Hakka people in this area established villages, cultivated land, developed village economies, promoted education and maintained religious traditions. They also documented the life stories of individual villagers.
The Partnership for Nature Education and Conservation is preparing to publish these fascinating historical and personal stories in book form. The aim is to add an important page in the local history of Hong Kong, and also to present it as a gift to the local villagers, expressing gratitude for their contributions and those of their ancestors in preserving the beautiful and culturally-rich land of Nam Chung.
Up the Valley
Situated halfway up the hills in Nam Chung is Wan Jing Jai, which dates back to 1908. This historic building and its surrounding landscapes have a history of over a century. From the early 20th century to the 1980s, it was referred to by Nam Chung villagers as a “vegetarian hall” and a “nun’s (gupo) house,” serving as a place where dozens of gupos led a self-sufficient way of life, observing rules more commonly associated with monastic orders. In the late 1990s, the already abandoned Wan Jing Jai was rediscovered and preserved by the retired Hong Kong Police officer Ron Clibborn-Dyer and his wife Veronica. The internal layout and temple furnishings of the building were maintained, and the surrounding terraced fields transformed into a beautiful garden, quietly preserved in a manner resembling a folk museum and botanical garden for nearly three decades.
By 2022, the descendants of Nam Chung’s Lee family had taken over the management of Wan Jing Jai. They now strive to maintain its tranquility and spiritual qualities, preserving the internal furnishings and garden space, and quietly opening it to the public for activities related to mind, body, spirit and art. In the long run, the Lee family hopes that Wan Jing Jai can continue its historical and educational functions as a community gathering place, adding a page of living history for future generations. As members of Nam Chung, we sincerely hope that the unique historical and cultural significance of Wan Jing Jai can continue to be passed down and spoken of.
The fundraising concert and themed guided tour connect the natural forces up and down the Nam Chung valley. We sincerely hope that through music and the guided tour, a unique experience of Nam Chung will be experienced by the public, taking everyone on a unique historical journey of the place.
Revenue raised from the concert and community tour, after deducting costs, will be equally divided to support the Nam Chung oral history publication project and the restoration costs of Wan Jing Jai.
| 27 January 2024
Saturday | 10:30am – 5:30pm Sign up here. |
| Packages
Option 1: Themed Guided Tour + Farm-to-Table Lunch + Concert (10:30am-5:30pm) HKD980 per pax Option 2: Concert ONLY (2:30-5:30pm) HKD500 per pax Option 3: Make a Donation Themed Guided Tour: Integrating the following thematic contents of our Nam Chung oral history project: agriculture, village economies, education and folk beliefs. Farm-to-Table Lunch: Using locally sourced organic farm products from Nam Chung and the northeastern New Territories, with all-natural seasonings and spices. Dining will take place at the “Reed Blossom”Community Base. Only ovo-lacto vegetarian meals will be provided (buffet style). Concert: Includes a tour of Wan Jing Jai, musical performances and specialty refreshments. |
Co-organised by Partnership for Nature Education and Conservation and Wan Jing Jai
The Partnership for Nature Education and Conservation (蘆葦花開生態教育基金) is a registered charity in Hong Kong. Founded in 2020, it is the legal entity of the Nam Chung Reed Blossom Eco-community. We aim to promote and practice a sustainable way of life based on our eco-farming, natural building, and other community activities. Find out more about the community here: https://pnecnamchung.org/.
Our guided tours on the ecology and culture of Nam Chung received rave reviews ever since its launch in 2020. All our tour guides have undergone training with us in 2019 and/or 2023 through the Nam Chung Eco-Cultural Tour Guiding Training Programme.
Musician Intros (in chronological order)
| Bowie
Bowie loves the sounds of the handpan and keeps practising it. She longs to invite sounds of healing in nature and perform in ensembles with birds in the wind. |
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| Derrick
Derrick, called by fate, currently living at Wan Jing Jai, from his heart wishes the temple to be blessed with great spirits. One with nature, full-on faith towards the universe, exploring spirituality, and a goodwill to gather a green living spiritual community. Walking on his shamanic journey, activated in the Light Language voice, with a shamanic drum may the blessing energy flow. |
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| Gladys靖恩
Gladys has taken part in community work in recent years, loves nature as well as Hong Kong. She plays the clarinet and takes it to express and communicate. She is a member of the local group Sea Island and Ferry, to record lives and experiences through music. |
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| Joyce綽詩
Intern at the Reed Blossom Community, so often drawn by the various bird songs in Nam Chung. Loves music and believes that music should belong to everyone. Joyce feels privileged to have created a song about Nam Chung together with other members of the community during her stay. It is her sincere hope that all can feel the truth and beauty of Nam Chung through its co-created lyrics. |
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| Ocean Chan陳偉光
Shakuhachi practitioner, taught by the renowned Shakuhachi artist Mr Sunny Yeung, Ocean is a cross-disciplinary artist who specializes in Buddhist Studies and Anthropology. He possesses more than 20 years of experience in the fields of art therapy, theatre, and musical performance locally and overseas. In recent years, he has focused on using the Shakuhachi, frame drums, and throat singing as ways of mindfulness teaching and therapy, blending Buddhism, the arts, and therapy in his daily life practice. |
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| Seven Foot Six and a Half七呎六吋半
The bassoon, crafted from maple wood, features a long and slender wooden body, with reeds made from plants that produce a unique woody tone. The Hong Kong local bassoon ensemble, Seven Foot Six and a Half, encourages the audience to listen attentively to Nature and feel the voices of trees through outdoor performances of bassoon music. As the audience enjoys the bassoon ensemble amidst the forest, it feels as though they are listening to a melodic chorus sung by the trees themselves. |
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| Shanim梁念明
Shanim, an ocarina lover who enjoys the clear sound and carefree mood of the instrument. Ocarina: A wind instrument with a long history, made of clay, with prototypes appearing in different cultures. The Mayans of South America in the sixth century had a painted instrument that imitated the song of birds, which has evolved into the twelve-hole model of the present day. Nature: Mountains, forests, streams, grass, flowers, birds and animals, the moon and the stars in the wilderness; when one connects with Nature and finds oneself in it, one can regain peace and strength. The fusion of Nature and the sound of ocarina is a supreme enjoyment of life! |
