Photographer Johnson Lui documents Sam Man Tsai, a fishing village on the outskirts of Hong Kong in which local communities live in pang uk—a halfway point between boats and houses.
In 2022, after almost three years of not being able to travel home without having to quarantine for two weeks in a hotel, I finally found myself back in Hong Kong—or as my friends call it, Home Kong.
Having spent months of lockdown confined in small urban spaces, I decided that—this time round—I wanted to avoid the frenetic pace of downtown Hong Kong for a completely different experience. So, I reached out to a close family friend, who owns a fishing raft out in the countryside, to show me a different side of the city I grew up in.
What first struck me about Sam Man Tsai Village Pier was the vibrant colors that locals had chosen to paint their houses and boats. Each construction was purpose-built—some resembled traditional regional homes while others were used primarily as sustainable fish farms. I became particularly interested in stilt houses known as pang uk, which are built on waterways as a halfway point between boats and houses; a commitment to their lifesource.
This was the refuge I had been searching for.
Sam Man Tsai’s surroundings are as lush as its waters: full of verdant greenery. The wetlands are a feeding ground for—among many other species of mammals and avians—great egrets. Watching them fly over mountains sure did not feel like the Hong Kong I had come to know.
But as so much of this Earth, the waterways and the communities that live in Sam Man Tsai are under threat. As the city continues to evolve and expand, many of these villages are being pushed out and moved onto the land. And with these changes, the local way of life is disappearing.
This photo series is a reminder to cherish the authenticity of these communities while we still can.
