Tai Po, Hong Kong

🇭🇰 Tai Po is an area in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It refers to the vicinity of the traditional market towns in the area presently known as Tai Po Old Market or Tai Po Kau Hui (大埔舊墟) (the original "Tai Po Market") on the north of Lam Tsuen River and the Tai Po Hui (the current Tai Po Market; historically Tai Wo Shi, literally Tai Wo market) on Fu Shin Street on the south of the Lam Tsuen River, near the old Tai Po Market railway station of the Kowloon-Canton Railway (British Section). Both market towns became part of the Tai Po New Town in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In present-day usage, "Tai Po" may refer to the area around the original market towns, the Tai Po New Town (Chinese: 大埔市), or the entire Tai Po District.

History Tai Po as a populated place, could be traced back to the Stone Age. Archaeological site in Yuen Chau Tsai, had discovered stone axe and pottery which was believed to be made in Neolithic era. The indigenous inhabitants of Tai Po lived by clamming and pearl farming in Tai Po Hoi (literally Tai Po Sea; Tolo Harbour) since at least AD 963. The pearl making business reached its peak during the Song dynasty and started to decline gradually in the midst of the Ming dynasty. Tai Po had been developed as a fishing port around the late Ming dynasty and the Qing dynasty. While a village that belong to the modern day Tai Po area, Wun Yiu (碗窰), had developed into a centre of porcelain industry in the Ming dynasty.

Tang clan migrated from the area north of the border of the modern day Hong Kong to the modern day the New Territories of Hong Kong in the Song dynasty of China. A branch of Tang clan was split from Lung Yeuk Tau of the modern day the New Territories, to establish the village in Tai Po Tau. The Tai Po Tau branch and Lung Yeuk Tau branch also founded the first Tai Po Hui the market town (also known as Tai Po Tau Hui), despite it is now defunct and the area now known as Tai Po Old Market. The area around the first market town, also lived other people that were not from the Tang clan. They formed an inter-villages alliance Tai Po Tsat Yeuk  (literally Tai Po Seven Alliances; each alliance contained one or more villages). The inter-villages alliance founded another market town Tai Wo Shi (literally Tai Wo market) after the Qing government ruled that Tai Po Hui (Tai Po Tau Hui) was belonged to Tangs, other clans cannot open shops in Tang's market town. However, Tai Wo Shi replaced the original Tai Po Hui (Tai Po Tau Hui) as the main market, and took the name Tai Po Hui (anglicized as Tai Po Market). The old market town thus became Tai Po Kau Hui (anglicized as Tai Po Old Market; Jyutping: daai6 bou3 gau6 heoi1).

During the British colonial rule, a District Office, a police station, two railway stations: Tai Po Market railway station and Tai Po Kau railway station (in Tai Po Kau; Jyutping: daai6 bou3 gaau3) and other public facilities were built with-in the modern day area that belong to the new town and the administrative district. Most of them in close distance with the market town of Tai Po at that time.

In the 1970s, the Hong Kong government began to develop satellite towns: Tai Po Industrial Estate, the first industrial estate in Hong Kong was built in the reclaimed land of the former Tai Po Hoi in 1974; Tai Po was named as a site to built "new town" in 1979, which the government obtain lands by reclamation of the river mouth and Tai Po Hoi. The new town was also designed to incorporate and interact with the existing market town. The first public housing estate of Tai Po New Town: Tai Yuen Estate – was established in 1981. The population has soared to 320,000, and Tai Po New Town began to prosper following the completion of the Tolo Highway which were integrated with the older urban areas.

At present, due to the development of the new town, the place name Tai Po may refer to Tai Po New Town or the historical area centre Tai Po Market, or the Tai Po District (excluding exclave Sai Kung North) that cover the new town and Lam Tsuen Valley and other area. However, the boundary of Tai Po was not defined. In contrast, a namesake election constituency of Tai Po Market had its legally defined boundary, as well as Tai Po District; Tai Po New Town also had its officially defined boundary in urban planning regulation and law. Moreover, Hong Kong police, as well as primary and secondary schools district, had their own boundaries.