1. The History
Yuen's Mansion, also known as "Yu De Li Wai", is a characteristic old house located in the bridgehead village of Mui Wo Chung Kau, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. The old house and associated buildings were built in the 1920s and the 1940s out of granite. The house was built by Yuan Huazhao, a former member of the Chinese Nationalist Party. During World War II, he played a role in anticipation and defence against the Japanese invasion.
A part of the complex is now abandoned (including the watch tower) while the other part is a dormitory for workers in nearby holiday homes. There is still one cannon in the house. Current owner, Yuen Chit-chi, recently criticised the local government for a decade of drainage work near the historic site that has left the buildings sinking. On December 18, 2009, it was assessed as a Grade II historic building. The complex includes six buildings in total; a main house, a former house, a barn, Dong Geng Lou, Xi Geng Lou and a hut adjacent to Dong Geng Lou.
2. The Explore
Bit of a mini-explore. Our table at a restaurant wasn’t ready for half-an-hour so with a bit of time to kill I hiked over to this place, having vague memories of previously seen this place. It paid off as the place was where I thought it was and was relatively easily accessible. From the outside the watch-tower and attached building look to be pretty sturdy but once inside you see that it is very much a shell of a building. All the same a nice little boutique explore.
3. The Pictures
The watch-tower built out of chunky granite blocks:
img9283 by HughieDW, on Flickr
This bit doesn’t look too steady:
img9282 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9280 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Front elevation:
img9279 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9278 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9277 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Heritage house to the left:
img9266 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Inside we go:
img9275 by HughieDW, on Flickr
All the window frames have fallen out:
img9271 by HughieDW, on Flickr
And the doors too:
img9263 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Remains of an old bed-head:
img9273 by HughieDW, on Flickr
The first floor has completely collapsed:
img9272 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Leaving this sink high and dry:
img9270 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9269 by HughieDW, on Flickr
New buildings have sprung up nearby:
img9267 by HughieDW, on Flickr
At least the external walls look sturdy:
img9264 by HughieDW, on Flickr
img9262 by HughieDW, on Flickr
Yuen's Mansion, also known as "Yu De Li Wai", is a characteristic old house located in the bridgehead village of Mui Wo Chung Kau, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. The old house and associated buildings were built in the 1920s and the 1940s out of granite. The house was built by Yuan Huazhao, a former member of the Chinese Nationalist Party. During World War II, he played a role in anticipation and defence against the Japanese invasion.
A part of the complex is now abandoned (including the watch tower) while the other part is a dormitory for workers in nearby holiday homes. There is still one cannon in the house. Current owner, Yuen Chit-chi, recently criticised the local government for a decade of drainage work near the historic site that has left the buildings sinking. On December 18, 2009, it was assessed as a Grade II historic building. The complex includes six buildings in total; a main house, a former house, a barn, Dong Geng Lou, Xi Geng Lou and a hut adjacent to Dong Geng Lou.
2. The Explore
Bit of a mini-explore. Our table at a restaurant wasn’t ready for half-an-hour so with a bit of time to kill I hiked over to this place, having vague memories of previously seen this place. It paid off as the place was where I thought it was and was relatively easily accessible. From the outside the watch-tower and attached building look to be pretty sturdy but once inside you see that it is very much a shell of a building. All the same a nice little boutique explore.
3. The Pictures
The watch-tower built out of chunky granite blocks:
This bit doesn’t look too steady:
Front elevation:
Heritage house to the left:
Inside we go:
All the window frames have fallen out:
And the doors too:
Remains of an old bed-head:
The first floor has completely collapsed:
Leaving this sink high and dry:
New buildings have sprung up nearby:
At least the external walls look sturdy:
