The village of four families
- Ma Pui Tsuen
- 24/7
A family affair
Lei Yue Mun is one of the ‘Kowloon Thirteen Villages’, a strategic alliance formed in 1957. Four big families call this village home: the Ips, Tsangs, Los and Cheungs. The Ip family owned Ha Wan Village (the area around Praya Road), Ma Wan Village (the area in front of the Tin Hau Temple) and Wine Bay (the current Typhoon Shelter); the Tsang family owned the current area of Yau Tong; the Cheung family was based in Wine Bay (the current Yau Tong industrial area and Sam Ka Tsuen); and the Lo family settled in the area around On Lei Sai Village.
Motherly protection
Did you know that 'Ma' (媽) means mother in Cantonese? Ma Pui (媽背村) and Ma Wan (媽環村) were among the earliest village settlements in Lei Yue Mun. They were all built around the A-Ma Temple, the ‘mother’ temple.
Seven wells
There were about seven wells here, a bare necessity in the days when tap water was unavailable. This one, right here on Chuen Yuen Road East (泉源道東), was one of them. Up until today, this well provides water to restaurants for cleaning purposes!