About the CPD Talk

A number of them are shown on early British military maps of the region dating from the turn of the century. (Ordnance Survey 1904 – surveyed by Major H.S. King, Royal Engineers, 1902-03 – GSS). These maps refer to them as “Chinese roads about 4 feet wide and mostly paved”.

This evidence supports the fact that they mostly predate the British period and, a point not without its significance, perhaps, that their strategic value had been recognised by the military map makers. The obvious fact that they follow natural lines of communication across passes and along ridges, in an otherwise mountainous and dissected terrain, makes it not unreasonable to assume that at least some of these trackways are of considerable antiquity.

It is perhaps relevant to note that the earliest settled farming communities in the Territory are traditionally dated to the late T’ang and early Song dynasties. It is at this time that one might expect local social institutions, capable of the organisation required to construct some of the more impressive trackways, to be taking shape.

The development of wet rice agriculture and other intensive farming activities, which also traditionally date from this period, could also have provided an important stimulus for the creation of this network of tracks.

About the Speaker

Mr. Guy Sanderson SHIRRA

Guy Sanderson SHIRRA is a British Hong Kong resident who served in the Royal Hong Kong Police (RHKP) from January 1967 to June 1997. He is the founder and President of the RHKP Old & Bold, a social group of retirees active since 2006.  He resides in Sai Kung with his Hong Kong wife of 53 years and two rescued Hong Kong dogs. He is a past Chairman of The Friends of Sai Kung (FSK) and is currently the NGO’s Communications and Operations officer.  FSK’s main focus at present is the government plan to destroy another HK Icon – Hiram’s Highway – and replace it with a dual carriageway.

He has self-published an autobiography “The Accidental Prawn – Interesting Times Policing Hong Kong in the 20th Century” and has published three other books for friends with two more under preparation. He has taken a keen interest in Hong Kong’s ancient Road, Bridge and Waymarker system since 2006 and had hoped to persuade the government to protect, preserve and maintain them and turn them into an historical attraction for Hong Kong residents and eco-tourists but has had nothing at all to show for his efforts to date.

For more information, please check out the website of Hong Kong Boulder Trackways

https://sites.google.com/site/hongkongbouldertrackways/