{"id":182419,"date":"2021-08-11T10:30:38","date_gmt":"2021-08-11T02:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/hong-kong\/?p=182419"},"modified":"2021-08-10T17:46:41","modified_gmt":"2021-08-10T09:46:41","slug":"history-of-sampans-in-hong-kong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thehoneycombers.com\/hong-kong\/history-of-sampans-in-hong-kong\/","title":{"rendered":"How much do you know about sampans in Hong Kong?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We all know Hong Kong\u2019s transport<\/a> system is one of the most efficient in the world, and also possibly one of the most diverse. Although you can\u2019t beat the convenience of hydrofoil ferries and the face-paced MTR, let\u2019s not forget our glorious sampans that you can still spot in Sai Kung<\/a>, Aberdeen<\/a>, and Stanley<\/a>. We look back at the history and cultural significance of sampans in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

A history crash course on sampans in Hong Kong<\/h3>\n
\"sampans
Sampans, aka little boat houses (Photography: Malcolm Trousdale via Gwulo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sampan translates to three planks in Cantonese<\/a> because it\u2019s a boat built with one plank base with two other planks on both sides. Back in the 1950s, sampans were one of the major modes of transportation in Hong Kong and, in addition to navigating the harbour, locals also lived aboard sampans. That\u2019s right, they cooked, slept, and worked day in and day out inside sampans. If you venture to Aberdeen, you\u2019ll still find descendants of the Tanka and Hoklo tribes who fish for a living via their sampans.<\/p>\n

Different people sold different things inside their sampans so locals would buy their necessities from each other and the whole network of these small boats formed a floating village that would light up at night.<\/p>\n

But soon after the rapid development in import and export, larger ships became the norm in Hong Kong and the manufacturing of sampans slowly started to decline.<\/p>\n

Reasons why sampans in Hong Kong are vanishing<\/h3>\n

In addition to the manufacturing shift to building faster boats and larger ships, it\u2019s also become more expensive to maintain a sampan ($30,000 to $40,000 per repair). With typhoons<\/a> becoming more severe, sampans are more vulnerable to damage and, due to the cost, some of those that are damaged are sent to scrap rather than being repaired. On top of that, there are only three repair facilities for sampans in Hong Kong and there\u2019s not enough manpower at these facilities to make repairs on all the sampans that need them.<\/p>\n

Plus, younger generations have often preferred to move to more urban areas to be closer to work.<\/p>\n

So yes, the sampans you see now are all we\u2019re going to have.<\/p>\n

\"People
People watching the Dragon Boat race from sampans (Photography: Fashila Kanakka)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

How to show some love to sampans in Hong Kong<\/h3>\n

When you go to Sai Kung, there are multiple ways to get out to the outlying islands. In addition to the kaito ferries and speedboats, you can also hail a sampan instead. It\u2019s usually older people operating them and, in all honesty, being closer to the water and feeling the movement of the waves makes for a more thrilling sampan experience.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Mochi & Hugo (@mochi_huhu)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n