Lantau Longing — The Tai O Heritage Hotel

The classic white front of the Tai O Heritage Hotel scintillated brilliance under the sun. Having past noon the day ushered in its hottest hours. As I ascended the gentle incline toward the main office of the former police station, the classic structure slowly came into view, revealing a small part itself — beautifully restored, radiating an air of elegance that belongs to a bygone age in Hong Kong. Formerly the Tai O Old Police Station, the heritage became a revitalised monument and it now remade itself into a boutique heritage hotel.


Situated at the southwestern tip of Tai O and overlooking the boundary between the waters of Hong Kong and China, the former police station was the frontier station that was set up with the intention of addressing two main problems that troubled the seas of Hong Kong between the 1900s and 1950s — the presence of pirates and the influx of refugees arriving by sea. The Old Tai O Police Station began its duty in 1902. It became a part of the marine police in 1948. By 1996 the police station became merely an outpost for the Land Police. Due to the exceptionally low crime rate in Tai O, in 2002 the Old Tai Po Police Station finally stepped down from its former historic duty after nearly 100 years of service to the community.


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Post by Helen Yu (Chestnut Journal) | Feb 10, 2025