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Up to the mountains
Up to the mountains...
Amah Rock
To understand Sha Tin more, one may first begin from Amah Rock. It originates from a Chinese poem about a touching but tragic love story.
One day, a fisherman sailed out to sea to fish but never returned home as expected. Day after day, his worried wife, carrying the baby on her back, climbed to the top of the hill and eagerly waited for the return of her husband. No wind or rain or the blazing sun seemed to stop her from climbing the hill every day, to say her silent prayers to the gods of the sea. Yet one day, a sudden thunderstorm swept through and turned the woman and her baby into stones, the Amah Rock.
Many Chinese classical poems were dedicated to the Amak Rocks. Similar legends abound throughout the whole of China —the number of "Mong Fu Shek" rocks in the country is a great one. In Hong Kong, we have one of these in Shatin.
Before New Town Plaza became the landmark of Shatin, the Amah Rock was once the landmark of the quiet village back then. Located at the lower slopes of Lion Rock, Amah Rock, resembles a woman with a child on her back, looking down towards the Shing Mun River. If you take a bus to Shatin through the Lion Rock tunnel, it is hard not to notice the big stone. Elected as the most
beautiful rock in the territory by Hong Kong people in 2007, it has always been a favourite tourist destination.
The route to Amah Rock is an easy and happy one, contrary to the bitter legend behind. Pretty much for hiking beginners, it is only up and down. With all the green vegetation, the air is so fresh. Monkeys are hanging over the branches, playing hide and seek with their mates. At intervals, children stop by the streams, seeking for tadpoles and small fish. After a pleasant walk of thirty
minutes, you will see Amah Roak in distance.
Surprisingly, it is rather interesting for us to discover that urbanization and also globalization has invaded this piece of landmark when we come close to the Amah Rock. Communication symbols in different languages or systems could be seen to be drawn on it. An unknown “artist” has painted a circle of little men of a person's height, joining hands around the rock. On top of them are numerous drawings and words made by other tourists who have stopped by. Telephone numbers, poems, swearing words, signatures, meaningless lines come together to form a large messy graffiti.
From this discovery, it could be seen that people no matter from where they come from, language communication serves an meaning to them whether if the message they intend to give is of importance or just a silly act. To have found this phenomenon at such a historic landmark is definitely an interesting discovery.
Amah Rock
| 望夫處，江悠悠。 化為石，不回頭。 山頭日日風復雨， 行人歸來石應語。 —— 王建《望夫石》 Waiting for him alone Where the river flows by, She turns into a stone Gazing with longing eyes. Battered by wind and rain day to day, the stone speaks when her husband returns. Amah Rock By Wong Jian (translated by crisscrossers in Oct 2008) |  |
To understand Sha Tin more, one may first begin from Amah Rock. It originates from a Chinese poem about a touching but tragic love story.
One day, a fisherman sailed out to sea to fish but never returned home as expected. Day after day, his worried wife, carrying the baby on her back, climbed to the top of the hill and eagerly waited for the return of her husband. No wind or rain or the blazing sun seemed to stop her from climbing the hill every day, to say her silent prayers to the gods of the sea. Yet one day, a sudden thunderstorm swept through and turned the woman and her baby into stones, the Amah Rock.
Many Chinese classical poems were dedicated to the Amak Rocks. Similar legends abound throughout the whole of China —the number of "Mong Fu Shek" rocks in the country is a great one. In Hong Kong, we have one of these in Shatin.
Before New Town Plaza became the landmark of Shatin, the Amah Rock was once the landmark of the quiet village back then. Located at the lower slopes of Lion Rock, Amah Rock, resembles a woman with a child on her back, looking down towards the Shing Mun River. If you take a bus to Shatin through the Lion Rock tunnel, it is hard not to notice the big stone. Elected as the most
beautiful rock in the territory by Hong Kong people in 2007, it has always been a favourite tourist destination.
The route to Amah Rock is an easy and happy one, contrary to the bitter legend behind. Pretty much for hiking beginners, it is only up and down. With all the green vegetation, the air is so fresh. Monkeys are hanging over the branches, playing hide and seek with their mates. At intervals, children stop by the streams, seeking for tadpoles and small fish. After a pleasant walk of thirty
minutes, you will see Amah Roak in distance.
Surprisingly, it is rather interesting for us to discover that urbanization and also globalization has invaded this piece of landmark when we come close to the Amah Rock. Communication symbols in different languages or systems could be seen to be drawn on it. An unknown “artist” has painted a circle of little men of a person's height, joining hands around the rock. On top of them are numerous drawings and words made by other tourists who have stopped by. Telephone numbers, poems, swearing words, signatures, meaningless lines come together to form a large messy graffiti.
From this discovery, it could be seen that people no matter from where they come from, language communication serves an meaning to them whether if the message they intend to give is of importance or just a silly act. To have found this phenomenon at such a historic landmark is definitely an interesting discovery.
EN2707 |
Latest page update: made by EN2707
, Nov 6 2009, 8:03 PM EST
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