Nature and Nurture: Tai Po
大自然搖籃：大埔
The area of Tai Po encompasses the traditional market towns of Tai Po Old Market, also known as Tai Po Kau Hui, Tai Po Market, Tai Wo Market, and Tai Po New Town. In the 90s, extensive reclamation work was carried out near the mouth of the Lam Tsuen River in Tolo Harbour to create land for the new town. Its name originates from the fact that Tai Po was once a dense forest area inhabited with wildlife; those travelling through the region had to do so quickly to avoid being attacked by animals, which earned it the nickname ‘Big Step', pronounced ‘Tai Po' in Cantonese.大埔區包括傳統的大埔舊墟、大埔墟、太和墟和大埔新市鎮。在90年代，吐露港的林村河口曾經進行大規模的填海工程，開闢了現時新市鎮所在地。大埔曾是一片茂密的樹林，住滿了野生動物，路經的人都要快步離開，避免受動物襲擊，所以當地又名「大步」，在廣東話與大埔同音。Amenities and F&B設施與餐廳Tai Po Mega Mall is the largest shopping landmark in the northeast New Territories, with five zones spread over some 600,000 square feet. The Hong Kong Science Park is also an attraction, an expansive campus-like environment on the boundary of Sha Tin and Tai Po for high-technology enterprises. They house a ‘living lab' for piloting innovative solutions to further Hong Kong's Smart City vision. There is also a wide range of F&B outlets. Our favourite is Food Lab, a farm-to-fork restaurant serving healthy contemporary cuisine with local farm-fresh and natural ingredients. Visit for guilt-free grub that is both hearty and satisfying.
Other food options in Tai Po include traditional Cantonese offerings. Choi Yun Kei is an old joint serving only four dishes: beef brisket, fish balls, fish slices and tripe, which you can choose to pair with soup noodles. Another choice of beef brisket is at Kwan Kee, a hole-in-the-wall with rarer cuts such as beef cheek or tongue. Chan Hon Kee does silken rice-flour rolls and 26 varieties of claypot rice; be prepared to queue. There are also a couple of English-style pubs, the Bobby London Inn and the King's Belly, where you can grab a laid-back pint or two.
全新界東北最大的購物商場－大埔超級城，商場面積達600,000平方呎，共分為五區。香港科學園本身亦是個景點，環境猶如大學校園，位於沙田和大埔的交界，是高科技產業的集中地，是區內以研究智能生活設施為主的園區，致力帶領香港成為智能城市。園內有不少餐飲設施，值得推介的是Food Lab，採用由農場直送至餐桌的食材，炮製健康的當代菜式，清新的口味讓人大飽口福。其他餐飲選擇還有傳統的廣東菜，著名的蔡潤記餐單上只有4道菜：牛腩、魚蛋、魚片及牛肚，可以配湯麵；另外也不妨一試群記的清湯腩，還有牛面頰和牛舌；陳漢記以絲滑腸粉馳名，還有26款不同菜式的煲仔飯，常有食客排隊等候入座。如果想喝一杯，休息一下，大埔還有幾間英式酒吧：Bobby London Inn和king's Belly供選擇。
Outdoor attractions戶外景點
Despite its densely populated public housing and industrial estates, Tai Po is the second least polluted district in Hong Kong and boasts a large amount of green area—a rarity in the 852. The Tai Po Waterfront Park is Hong Kong's largest public park, with tree-framed lawns, an amphitheatre, a cycling track along the Tolo Harbour, and an insect house among other facilities. It also contains the Tai Po Lookout Tower, a quirky structure 32.4 metres high that rather resembles a slim rocket in a hoop skirt. From there, visitors can use telescopes to view the harbour, the surrounding high rises, and the dystopian 70s industrial landscape that is the Tai Po Industrial Estate.
The Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden is worth a day trip to slowly explore. A conservation and teaching centre with educational displays and sustainability features, the compound comprises of nine kilometres of roads winding their way up around organic farming terraces, gardens and native forest to the summit of the Kwun Yum Shan mountain at over 1,800 feet above sea level. They also have wildlife rescue facilities and house some animals including leopard cats, palm civets, monkeys, birds of prey, and a reptile house. Its woods and gardens are also home to a lot of indigenous flora and fauna. See if you can spot a barking deer or the small-toothed ferret badger, which are more active in the area around November.
There's also the Fung Yuen Butterfly Reserve, a forested ravine behind Fung Yuen village which theoretically contains 180 different butterfly species, a third of them rare breeds. The best time for spotting butterflies is before 10am however, so visitors would have to arrive early. The nearby Pat Sin Leng, a mountain range located within the Pat Sin Leng Country Park, is popular among hikers. Each of its eight peaks are named after famous immortals in Chinese mythology.
雖然大埔的公共屋 和工業區人口密集，但該區仍是全港人口第二少的區份，有大片綠色地帶，在香港十分稀有。大埔海濱公園是本港最大的公共公園，有三個大草坪，一個戶外劇場，沿吐露港的單車徑，還有昆蟲館等等。公園的香港回歸紀念塔，高32.4米，建築猶如一支準備升空的金箭，遊人可從塔上的望遠鏡觀看吐露港、附近的高樓大廈、以及70年代建成的大埔工業 。
嘉道理農場暨植物園是一日遊的好去處，作為保育及教育中心，設置了不少教育和永續設施，農場有一條長9公里的路，蜿蜒的小徑直達有機農場、花園及樹林，以及海拔達1800呎的觀音山頂。農場亦設有野生動物救援設施，及飼養了山貓、麝貓、猴子、猛禽及爬蟲館供遊客觀賞，而農場亦有許多原生花卉及植物。據農場的網頁指，11月份最活躍的動物是赤麂和鼬獾，在到訪農場時不妨留意一下有沒有見到牠們的蹤影。
鳳園蝴蝶保育區亦位於大埔，鳳園林地有超過180個蝴蝶品種，當中三份之一是稀有品種。最佳的觀蝶時間是在早上10時前，但遊客需要提早到達；保育區附近的八仙嶺郊野公園擁有延綿的八仙嶺山脈，是遠足的熱點，每一個山峰都是以中國神話中的八仙命名。
Cultural attractions 文化景點
Tai Po is famed for its award-winning market. Their indoor market is one of the neatest in Hong Kong, while the outdoor wet market is bursting with fruit and vegetables, dried seafood, and traditional snacks. Make sure you pick up some fresh aloe or sugar cane juice to hydrate as you explore. In the middle of the market street is the doubled-halled Man Mo temple, the centre of worship for Tai Po since the late 19th century, jointly dedicated to the gods of literature and war.
The Hong Kong Railway Museum is housed in the old Tai Po Market train station and built in 1913 in traditional Chinese style. It showcases the history of Hong Kong railways with plenty of displays, but the highlights are the historical train carriages open for visitors to enter and experience first-hand—the perfect place for train spotters to visit and take good photos.
Slightly further out from Tai Po proper is the Lam Tsuen Wishing Tree. Considered a place of good luck, visitors are greeted by a large banyan tree laden with coloured paper and oranges. Legend has it a man whose son had learning difficulties once made a wish on this very tree for his son to improve at school; he later did perform much better, and this story sparked off a wish making trend. Visitors traditionally write their wishes on a piece of paper, tie it to an orange and throw it towards the tree. If it catches onto the branches, the wish will supposedly be granted. However, in 2005, the tree sustained damage to its branches due to the undue weight and stress it constantly bears, and has now been left to recover in peace. Wish makers now tie their papers to wooden racks or throw plastic fruits onto a plastic tree instead.
大埔區的墟市十分出名，而且獲獎無數，擁有全港其中一個最清潔及最整齊的室內街市，而其戶外街市主要售賣蔬果、海味及傳統小吃，不妨一邊逛街市，一邊喝杯新鮮的蘆薈和蔗汁來解渴。位於街市大街中心的是兩院式建築的文武廟，自19世紀以來，香火鼎盛，是供奉文武二帝的廟宇。
另一著名的景點是香港鐵路博物館，位於大埔舊墟火站內，建於1913年，是傳統中式建築，展示香港鐵路歷史，館內有許多文物，但最出名的是開放給遊客親身體驗的舊式車廂，是火車迷必訪及拍照留念的地方。
再走遠一點是林村許願樹，偌大的榕樹掛滿了彩紙，十分搶眼，傳說一位父親有位學習困難的兒子，有次在樹下許願希望兒子學業有進步，果然日後兒子學業猛進，這事一傳十，十傳百，興起了許願的風氣。傳統上遊客把願望寫在紙上，縛住一個橙拋上樹，只要能掛在樹枒上就可願望成真。不過自2005年起，因為樹枝負苛過重，開始枯萎，現時許願人士把願望縛在木框上或連同塑膠做的生果縛在膠樹上，而原來的許願樹正在休養生息，慢慢復原。