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26-604: The name means the origin of small river in Chinese. It is so named because the area situated originally between two rivers. Siu Lek Yuen lies at a hill that locates at the east side of Shing Mun River . Therefore, unlike most of the Sha Tin New Town, the land does not come from reclamation . Siu Lek Yuen was originally a ford of Tide Cove ( 沙田海 ), which was reclaimed for the development of Sha Tin New Town . At

52-639: A central point (tip of petiole), an average of 7–10 centimetres ( 2 + 5 ⁄ 6 –4 in) wide, 13–15 centimetres ( 5 + 1 ⁄ 6 – 5 + 5 ⁄ 6  in) in length. The leaf's long flexible petiole is up to 20 centimetres (8 in) long. Cup-shaped flowers solitary or clustered, axillary or sub-terminal, fascicles at or near the ends of the branches, when the tree is bare of leaves, an average of 7–11 centimetres ( 2 + 5 ⁄ 6 – 4 + 1 ⁄ 3  in) wide, 14 centimetres ( 5 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) in width, petals up to 12 centimetres ( 4 + 2 ⁄ 3  in) in length, calyx

78-555: A population equivalent of 160,000 in the 1980s. At that time, hardly any living creatures were found in the river. The water quality of Shing Mun River has improved from bad to good in terms of the Water Quality Index since 1993. Lifeforms including fish and invertebrates have also reappeared in the river. In 2001, bioremediation and dredging works began to further improve the river environment. Levels of odour-causing sulphides and E. coli subsequently dropped sharply. But

104-518: A result, only Siu Lek Yuen Nullah ( 小瀝源渠 ), a small nullah of the Shing Mun River remained. As part of the New Town, Siu Lek Yuen also underwent a vast change in the years. Originally it was one of the nine districts of Sha Tin ( 沙田九約 ), namely, Siu Lek Yuen District ( 小瀝源約 ), where 14 Hakka villages were there. After the development of Sha Tin New Town, public and private housing estates and factories were built here. Siu Lek Yuen Village

130-639: A straight tall trunk and its leaves are deciduous in winter. Red flowers with 5 petals appear in the spring before the new foliage. It produces a capsule which, when ripe, contains white fibres like cotton. Its trunk bears spikes to deter attacks by animals. Although its stout trunk suggests that it is useful for timber, its wood is too soft to be very useful. Bombax ceiba grows to an average of 20 meters, with old trees up to 60 meters in wet tropical regions. The trunk and limb bear numerous conical spines particularly when young, but get eroded when older. The leaves are palmate with about 6 leaflets radiating from

156-674: A tree to the emperor of the Han dynasty in the 2nd century BC. This tree is commonly known as Let-pan ( Burmese language : လက်ပံ), semal ( Hindi : सेमल ), shimul ( Bengali : শিমুল ) or ximolu ( Assamese : শিমলু) in India. It is widely planted in parks and on roadsides there because of its beautiful red flowers which bloom in March/April. This tree is quite common in New Delhi although it doesn't reach its full size of 60m there because of

182-500: Is a private housing estate at the north side of Kwong Yuen Estate. Siu Lek Yuen is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 91. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money); no government schools are in this net. The north entrance of Tate's Cairn Tunnel ( 大老山隧道 ) lies at the southern side of Siu Lek Yuen, making the transportation between Siu Lek Yuen to

208-736: Is a recognized village under the New Territories Small House Policy . At the time of the 1911 census, the population of Siu Lek Yuen Village was 174. The number of males was 73. Kwong Yuen Estate ( 廣源邨 ), a large public housing estate, is at the centre of Siu Lek Yuen. It comprises 6 blocks. Kwong Lam Court ( 廣林苑 ) and Hong Lam Court ( 康林苑 ) are the Home Ownership Scheme courts within Kwong Yuen Estate. Two blocks of Hong Lam Court are used as Government Quarters ( 政府宿舍 ). Castello ( 帝堡城 )

234-571: Is cup-shaped usually 3 lobed, an average of 3–5 centimetres ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 6 –2 in) in diameter. Staminal tube is short, more than 60 in 5 bundles. The stigma is light red, up to 9 centimetres ( 3 + 1 ⁄ 2  in) in length, ovary is pink, 1.5–2 centimetres ( 2 ⁄ 3 – 5 ⁄ 6  in) in length, with the skin of the ovary covered in white silky hair at 1mm long. Seeds are numerous, long, ovoid, black or gray in colour and packed in white cotton. The fruit, which reaches an average of 13 centimetres (5 in) in length,

260-461: Is light-green in color in immature fruits, brown in mature fruits. The tree is widely planted in southeastern Asian countries and regions (such as in Myanmar , Thailand , Vietnam , Malaysia , Philippines , Indonesia , southern China and Taiwan , etc.). According to Chinese historical record, the king of Nam Yuet (located in the southern China and northern Vietnam nowadays), Zhao Tuo , gave

286-637: The Tai Wai area, through the Sha Tin town centre to the Tolo Harbour. It has three main tributaries, namely Tai Wai Nullah , Fo Tan Nullah and Siu Lek Yuen Nullah . Along the Shing Mun River are high-rise residential, commercial and industrial buildings with numerous village-type developments such as City One Shatin and Wo Che Estate scattered around. Several bridges were built to connect

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312-586: The kaeng khae curry . Bombax ceiba is literally known as "cotton-tree flowers" in Cantonese . It plays a vital role in Southern Chinese , especially Guangzhou Cantonese culture. It is the official flower of Guangzhou , the capital of Guangdong Province in southern China. Flowering season takes places from late February to early May. Fruiting can start as early as March. At the peak of its flowering season, elderly people may often be seen gathering

338-626: The East Kowloon much easier. There are two bus termini in the area: Kwong Yuen Bus Terminus ( 廣源巴士總站 ) and Wong Nai Tau Public Transport Interchange ( 黃泥頭公共運輸交匯處 ). It is a 15–20 minutes walk from the area to City One MTR station or Shek Mun MTR station . Owing to the decreased demand of industrial lands in Hong Kong, the government plans to re-develop the Siu Lek Yuen Industrial Area. There are plans to convert

364-521: The calyx of the flower-bud is eaten as a vegetable in India." The white fluffy fibres are carded into thread and woven into textiles in Nepal and India. In North India, the fibers are also used in pillows. In Thailand, the dry cores of the Bombax ceiba flower ( Thai : งิ้ว ) are an essential ingredient of the nam ngiao spicy noodle soup of the cuisine of Shan State and Northern Thailand , as well as

390-678: The colour changes in the Fo Tan Nullah, tests conducted in December 2015 by a private laboratory at the behest of Sha Tin District Councillor Scarlett Pong Oi-lan revealed that pollution had worsened in the Shing Mun River. The tests showed that the E. coli are 1,300 times the EPD standard, while water acidity and suspended solids are three times the standard. Pong said that the E. Coli concentration

416-468: The factories into office. Hotels are also being built on former industrial area. 22°22′56″N 114°13′06″E  /  22.3823°N 114.2183°E  / 22.3823; 114.2183 Shing Mun River The Shing Mun River (Chinese: 城門河) or Shing Mun River Channel (Chinese: 城門河道) is a river in Sha Tin , Hong Kong . The original Shing Mun River began at Needle Hill , and flowed into

442-412: The fallen flowers from the ground to dry, which they later use to prepare tea or soup. The flowers are very attractive to local wildlife such as the fruit-eating Japanese white-eye , which often draw a hole in an unopened flower bud. Honey bees and bumble bees also attracted to the flowers to collect pollen and nectar. Because the flowers attract many insects, crab spiders can be occasionally found on

468-481: The former Tide Cove (Sha Tin Hoi), a shallow bay. In the 1970s, Tide Cove was reclaimed and turned to Sha Tin New Town . The river was extended through a 7 km long, 200 m wide artificial channel in the middle of the area to flow into Tolo Harbour . Other rivers that had originally flowed into Tide Cove are now tributaries of Shing Mun River in the form of concreted nullahs . The Shing Mun River channel runs from

494-436: The month it was ‘partly grey and partly turquoise’. Residents and green groups speculated on whether the pollution was caused by the illegal dumping of pigments or industrial waste. The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and Drainage Services Department investigated but were unable to determine the cause of the pigmentation as of December 2015. An EPD test revealed that the river was polluted by sewage. Aside from

520-615: The riverside, such as the Chinese Banyan and a few cotton trees . Shing Mun River is a popular place for water sports, such as: rowing , canoeing , kayaking and dragon boat racing. There are three boathouses in the river, located at Yuen Wo Road and Shek Mun respectively. The river has a standard of 2000 metres long for regattas. The Shing Mun River was once heavily polluted from the indiscriminate discharges from livestock, industrial, commercial and domestic sources. The total organic pollution load from these discharges amount to

546-519: The semi arid climate. The cotton fibers of this tree can be seen floating in the wind around the time of early May. This tree shows two marked growth sprints in India: in spring and during the monsoon months. Perhaps due to subtropical climate and heavy rainfalls, it is found in dense populations throughout the Northeast India. In Myanmar , its flowers are let to be dry and cooked, which is one of

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572-508: The situation immediately. 22°23′05″N 114°11′48″E  /  22.384781°N 114.196529°E  / 22.384781; 114.196529 Bombax ceiba Bombax ceiba , like other trees of the genus Bombax , is commonly known as cotton tree . More specifically, it is sometimes known as Malabar silk-cotton tree ; red silk-cotton ; red cotton tree ; or ambiguously as silk-cotton or kapok , both of which may also refer to Ceiba pentandra . This Asian tropical tree has

598-437: The traditional foods of Myanmar. This tree is also found in the eastern parts of Pakistan , especially in the eastern city of Lahore . The local Urdu and Punjabi names for the tree is sumbal , semal , sainbhal . The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia records that the tree was at that time known as Bombax malabaricum, and its common names included 'Simool Tree;or 'Malabar Silk-cotton Tree of India' and that

624-529: The two sides of the Shing Mun River. There are several major bridges across the Shing Mun River: Although the river is primarily designed for the drainage of storm water from Sha Tin with a catchment area of 37 km , it is also a popular place for recreational users such as rowers, anglers, riverside walkers and cyclists. There are continuous pedestrian promenades on both sides of the river. Many species of trees has been planted along

650-495: The water quality is still threatened by the polluted condition of Tolo Harbour, which backflows into the Shing Mun River during high tide, causing contamination. An artificial river bank was also built along a 250-metre section near Man Lai Court , where there are relatively severe sediment accumulations and odour problems. In late 2015, the Fo Tan Nullah, which flows into the Shing Mun River, changed colours several times. In early December it turned an electric blue, while later in

676-567: Was at its highest level since 1995. In early 2016, thousands of fish died in the river. On 1 November 2016, the real estate company Link REIT was fined $ 15,000 for contravening the Water Pollution Control Ordinance because wastewater from the Mei Lam Shopping Centre, owned and managed by Link REIT, was being illegally discharged into the Shing Mun River. The company was ordered to rectify

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