Shatin

Hong Kong Heritage Museum


Shopping complex

Geographically Shatin covers about 60 km2 of land, including Shatin New Town, Ma On Shan and several country parks. Shatin New Town, divided by the 7 km-long Shing Mun River, is a well-developed, self-supporting residential area comprising public housing estates, large-scale developments and luxury-class developments.

After almost three decades of development since its early days as merely a "satellite" town to ease the housing pressure in the densely populated Kowloon, Shatin is nowadays a major community and transportation hub in the New Territories. The district has the largest number of KCR East Rail stations, including Tai Wai, Shatin, Fo Tan, Racecourse and University. KCR Ma On Shan Rail also runs through Tai Wai, Che Kung Temple, Shatin Wai, City One, Shek Mun, Tai Shui Hang, Heng On, Ma On Shan and Wu Kai Sha. Many highways and a couple of tunnels lead literally to all regions of Hong Kong.

Shatin New Town and Ma On Shan are highly sophisticated, which are proud of by the Hong Kong Government as an achievement in building a modern new town. There are numerous shopping centres, markets, restaurants, and shops of all kinds serving its population of 600,000. Interconnected bicycle tracks are built beside footpaths strategically to facilitate the healthy way of transportation.

Healthcare facilities are adequate with four hospitals serving the community. Quite many tourist attractions, such as the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Shatin Racecourse, Che Kung Miu (a Tao temple) and Lion Pavilion, are also located in Shatin. Shatin College, a high school sponsored by English Schools Foundation, offers education to the English-speaking students.