Aberdeen floating village (Chinese: ???????) is located at the Aberdeen Harbour in the Southern District of Hong Kong. The harbour contains approximately 600 junks, which house an estimated 6,000 people.
Since the 19th century, Aberdeen has emerged as one of the most important fishing ports in Hong Kong. Now in Aberdeen, as the catering and tourism industries are on the rise, so is the demand for seafood. In the past two decades, the population of the Aberbeen Floating Village community has decreased due to rapid fisheries development in the nearby Guangdong Province and the increase in operating costs of the fishing industry in Hong Kong. Instead of living on the boat permanently, now the majority of the boat people only fish on the boat during the day.
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History of boat people in Hong Kong
Background
The people living on boats in Aberdeen are mainly Tanka, a group which arrived in Hong Kong around the 7-9th century. While sometimes referred to as "boat people", they are in fact boat dwellers and should not be confused with the unrelated Vietnamese refugees boat people, who came to Hong Kong by boat in the 1970s.
The total population of boat dwellers in Hong Kong was estimated at 2,000 in 1841, 150,000 in 1963 and at 40,000 in 1982.
Aberdeen floating village
Aberdeen's temple to Tin Hau attest to a long tradition of marine and fishing cultures and traditions in Hong Kong. Aberdeen's role as a port emerged between the 14th and 17th centuries when sandalwood (taang heung muk) arrived in junks from Lantau Island and Sha Tin. The waters of Aberdeen served as the intermediary, dispatching the sandalwood into larger boats up the East China coast to major cities in China.
The Aberdeen Dragon Boat Race
The Duanwu Festival (the fifth day of the fifth month in the Lunar calendar) is an event of tremendous importance to Hong Kong fishermen. Dragon boat racing in Hong Kong commenced around the 1900s. Fishermen think that rowing dragon boats during the Duanwu festival will bring them luck. Aberdeen was one of the earliest places to host dragon boat races in Hong Kong.
Aberdeen hosts the Aberdeen Dragon Boat race each year, an event which has received a lot of community support. Today, Aberdeen still continues with its tradition of holding races for long dragon boats which carry 48 paddlers. The standard of paddling and teamwork amongst the racers is very high.
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Lifestyle
Although now Aberdeen has been transformed into a semi-commercial district, it has still maintained the style of a fishing village. Some of the residents of Aberdeen actively engage in boat activities. They still mainly rely on the boat for daily living, working, and chatting amongst each other. Some common boat activities include: fish salt-processing, washing fish and driving and being a tour guide on the sightseeing sampans on the waterfront.
Boat restaurants
Some boat people are employed at boat restaurants, which sell fresh seafood mainly for tourists. The chefs in the restaurants use traditional methods to cook fresh seafood to provide tourists with a taste of Aberdeen.
Sightseeing sampans
Some boat people drive and are tour guides for sightseeing sampans on the waterfront. When people are walking along the shore, the boat people would invite them for a boat travel to some small islands nearby or the surrounding area for around 20 to 30 minutes. The tour guide would introduce the scenic and special points of those areas to the tourists during the ride. After that, they will charge a fee of around $50 to $80 Hong Kong dollars.
Fish catching
At least once a day, boat people drive their boats out to the surrounding areas to catch fish. They will then hand them over to the wholesalers in the Fish Marketing Organization (F.M.O) for further wholesaling, or simply sell them directly to wet markets or seafood restaurants.
Non-boat people living in the Aberdeen Floating Village
There are many other people in Aberdeen who neither live nor work on boats. Most of these people consume fresh seafood from small-scale fish boats, or go to seafood restaurants to dine. There are two famous floating restaurants in Aberdeen: the Jumbo Floating Restaurant and the Tai Pak Floating Restaurant. In addition to food, non-boat people also go to the marine parks at the waterfront for leisure activities, such as doing exercise, stretching or simply chatting with their neighbors.
Fishing methods
Trawling is the most common and significant method used nowadays by the fishermen in the South and East China seas. The type of trawling method used depends on which type of fish the fisherman intends to catch.
Shrimp catching
To catch shrimp, fishermen use the shrimp trawling operation, during which they would throw small bags into the sea to catch shrimp.
Fish Catching
For catching other marine animals such as fish, different methods are used. For the gill-netting operation, the fish boat would pull a long net at its back, which fish will flow into. For the seine fishing operation, fishermen will place a rounded net into the sea when they see a school of fish swim by. The long-lining operation consists of the fish boat pulling a string, tagged with little fish, to attract and lure the fish onto the string.
Fishing junks
Shrimp Trawlers are used to catch shrimp using the shrimp-trawling method. However, shrimp trawlers only account for a very small portion of trawlers in Hong Kong. Currently, the most common trawlers in Hong Kong, are the Hang Trawlers, Sten Trawlers, Purse Seniers and Gill-Netters. All of these local fishing boat junks were mechanized only after the Pacific War.
Fishing industry in Aberdeen
Before the 1950s, salt fish was the major catch sold in Aberdeen. Today, Aberdeen is the only fishing port in the Southern District in Hong Kong. It continues to play an important role in the fishing industry. The catch of fish in the Aberdeen port accounts for over one-third of the total catch of fish in Hong Kong. During the Fishing Moratorium Period (June and July), more than 1,000 fishing vessels are anchored at the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter.
The fish marketing organization
The Fish Marketing Organization (F.M.O) is a self- financed, non-profit-making organization which provides marketing services for fishermen and fish retailers at the Aberdeen floating village. F.M.O's income derives from the commission on sales and surplus earnings. F.M.O's earnings are used to improve the facilities of the Aberdeen Floating Village. Wholesale fish markets operated by the F.M.O are located along the Aberdeen Promenade. Every morning the fish market is crowded with fishermen, fish sellers and buyers.
Food
Aberdeen boat people are well known for their floating restaurants which serve fresh seafood caught directly from their own boats. Each floating restaurant serves different types of seafood, each with a unique Cantonese cuisine flavor. Some boat people sell fresh seafood, dried fish and salt fish on their own small boats along the coast.
Fish ball noodles
Every morning the Aberdeen boat people catch fresh fish to make fish balls. These fish balls are used to create the local Aberdeen specialty: 'Fish Ball Noodles'. Boat people make their own noodles for this specialty, and use simple but traditional and unique ways to cook the fish ball noodles. Every evening at 6pm,people from all over Hong Kong come and visit the village to enjoy the limited dishes of 'Fish Ball Noodles'.
Tourism
From fishing to tourism
The fishing port of Aberdeen has been a major tourist attraction to the local population and tourists due its beautiful scenery and tasty seafood. Since the 1960s, the Hong Kong Tourist Association and the government of Hong Kong have been active participants in promoting the tourism sector of Aberdeen; thereby benefiting the catering and travel industries in the area.
Ferries and sampans of Aberdeen
Aberdeen is well known for its movies with traditional rowing boats and the boat-fishing villages. Along the Aberdeen Promenade, there are multiple ferryboats and a lead-way to Ap Lei Chau, Lamma and Po Toi. There are also a series of shuttle ferries to the Jumbo Floating Restaurant. There are also sampans for hire for sightseeing.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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