Once its own market town, Sheung Shui, the last stop before the China border, has been swallowed up in the budding satellite town that now spreads out from Fanling. Although much of Sheung Shui's charm has been lost due to the construction of modern buildings all around, it's still more peaceful than other old villages that are closer to the beaten path. Of all the historic, traditional Chinese buildings in the New Territories, few impress me as much as Tai Fu Tai, built in 1865 and the only Mandarin mansion restored and remaining in Hong Kong. It belonged to Man Chung-luen, the 21st generation of the Man clan (another of the Five Great Clans), a merchant and scholar who attained the highest grade in the Imperial Chinese Civil Service Examinations. Constructed of granite and bricks and adorned with colorful ceramic figurines, fine plaster moldings, woodcarvings, and murals, it is striking for its simplicity, a stark contrast to mansions built by Westerners of the gentry class of the same period. Constructed like a miniature fort, without windows but with an inner courtyard to let in light, it contains a main hall, side chambers, bedrooms, study, kitchen, servants' quarters, and lavatory. In the back of the main hall is a portrait of Man Chung-luen, flanked by pictures of his two wives and two sons. Not shown are his eight daughters. Remarkably, the mansion was occupied by members of the Man clan until the 1980s. Nearby is the Man Lun Fung Ancestral Hall, built to honor the 8th member of the Man clan. Both Tai Fu Tai and the ancestral hall are open free to the public Wednesday through Monday from 9am to 1pm and 2 to 5pm. To reach them, take bus no. 76K from Sheung Shui KCR station traveling in the direction of Yuen Long (West) about 30 minutes to San Tin (near the post office), followed by a 5-minute walk back along Castle Peak Road to the signposted entrance. Since it's a bit difficult and time-consuming to visit on your own, you might want to take Gray Line's guided Heritage Tour, which takes in this site, as well as a few stops of the Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail and the Man Mo Temple in Tai Po, described above.
