Glistening skyscrapers and imposing shopping malls dominate the skyline of Hong Kong. It’s hard to imagine that this metropolis was nothing more than a fishing village 150 years ago. Fishermen lived here in stilt houses, supported above the water by poles, and fished to provide a meal for their families. You can still see this lifestyle today in Tai O fishing village.
Hong Kong is more diverse than most photographs suggest. The village of Tai O is located at the western tip of Lantau, the region’s largest island. The road there passes through uninhabited hills and alongside beautiful beaches. Perhaps due to its remote location, this fishing village has hardly changed at all over the past century. Fishing boats, painted in every colour of the rainbow, are secured to the poles on which the houses are built. The fishermen trade their catches on planks between the houses. It’s almost as if shops don’t exist.