Pirates and Caves

There is a very famous site in Cheung Chau. So I didn't take a ride on the walla-walla just for a spin. There was a destination: the Cheung Po-tsai Cave.

If Scotland has some of the most impressive landscape features in the UK, Cheung Chau is the Scotland of Hong Kong. On one end of the two hilly terrains joined by the long stripe of land and beaches, which give the name of Cheung (long) Chau (island), the rocky hills not only provide some breathtaking views but also harboured a notorious man in history, Cheung Po-tsai, who was a big pirate in the coastal area in Southern China.

The tourist's information says, "Hong Kong waters, close to the Canton shipping lanes, were always attractive to pirates. The most famous of these was Cheung Po-tsai. He was an officer of the pirate chief Cheng I (active 1802-1807), and later of his widow, Cheng I-sao (1807-1809).

"Cheng I ran a pirate fleet of 1,200 junks, and 50,000 men. This fleet was easily able to defeat the local naval patrols. In 1809 there was a battle between the Portuguese and this pirate fleet, which later led to negotiations and the surrender of the pirates without any punishment.

"Cheung Po-tsai was born in the Hong Kong area, and legends about his career became locally widespread. His name is thus attached to many coastal places: while he may or may not have been closely connected with these sites, it is at least certain that the sites look out on waters over which, for nearly ten years, he reigned supreme."

The pirate's cave going through the foot of a headland on Cheung Chau which is believed to be one of the numerous hiding places of Cheung Po-tsai.

Rumours have been passing among the local folks that the pirate used the cave to hide his plunder. It also served as an escape when he was pursued.

The cave is really narrow and only allows the passage of one person at a time. You can forget trying if you have a big belly or arms too weak for the climbing near the exit of the cave. Actually there are other places in Hong Kong connected with the pirate Cheung. Let's see if we will have a chance to visit some of them.

Now, let's get in and go through the cave!

Comments

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Eye Contact

(Leica D-lux 5) The digital era may make it easier to end up with fave shots. Even lousy photos may be turned likable after a few clicks in the post-processing workflow. But if digital advancement or amendments have any bearing on the cultivation of personal style, no photographers will need to discover his or her own photographer’s eye. Undoutedly, this is out of the question. Only with a trained photographer’s eye can we give a thinking gaze and capture an eternal moment, in our unique style. Style is the soul of a great photo. A few posts have been written in GXG to touch on the topic of photographer’s eye. Instead of finding an answer, which would require academic discussions, the posts are intended to give my general reflections and spark interests in moving towards further exploration of the topic. The posts can be viewed after the links: 1) Photographer's Eye: Storytelling 2) Photographer's Eye: Little Show of Observing 3) Photographer's Eye: Sight-Worthy 4

GX GARNERINGS

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