The last Hakka farmer : a case study of a disappearing agricultural industrial heritage

Abstract

Hakka people escaped from the mainland who revealed the dawning of history of Hong Kong. As the very first immigrant to Hong Kong, they settled in the flatland land such as Yuen Long and Sha Lo Tung with the agricultural knowledge and technology. Yuen long, therefore, was one of the oldest district in Hong Kong which surrounded by Hakka dominance farming community. However, both farming and Hakka communities are disappearing.

The farming industry declined since 1980s thanks to the importation of products from china, reduction in area of arable lands and farmers. The mass importation of various farm products from mainland China grows dramatically with the population in the upcoming decades. Farming industry becomes a sunset industry in the entire Hong Kong.

Besides, the traditional Hakka culture fades out which assimilated into Hong Kong culture. Due to globalization and the integration of various cultures such as western, Japanese, Korean, Chinese cultures in this international metropolis, the traditional Hakka cultures such as languages, festival, customs were forgotten by the citizen.

Given the above, there is an urgency to document the Hakka farming way of life which shows the most original life of Hong Kong people, before it completely disappeared. It is the last chance to carry out the documentation with the first- hand information as the remaining old farmers are the last generation who used the Hakka practice to farm.