Escape to peace off beaten path

Decaying village becomes haven for city slickers

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Tourists in Hong Kong are flocking to the 300-year-old village of Kuk Po, whose decaying mansions and reed fields offer a respite from the city's famously frenetic pace.

The seaside village was once home to Hakka people from southern China but was mostly abandoned in recent decades, even as gleaming high-rises sprang up in nearby Shenzhen across the Chinese border.

But Hong Kong's government is encouraging visitors to go off the beaten path and has loosened entry restrictions to the city's northernmost neighbourhood of Sha Tau Kok - making it easier to visit Kuk Po via speedboat.

On a recent weekend, tourists thronged to the village's picturesque sights, surrounded on three sides by gentle valleys.