Yung Shue Wan, the legendary symbol
Before any TV and radio facilities ever existed in Hong Kong, people here amused themselves by listening to legends told by some story tellers.
Every evening, children and those who were free from work would gather under banyan trees and spent hours sitting on rocks and flipping paper fans to make themselve cool from the hot weather.
At the same time a story teller would loudly and verbally narrate legends of ancient heroes, historical stories or fantasy tales like Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, The Monkey's Journey to the West and The Dream in the Red Chamber. Sometimes these story narrators also revealed news about the latest happenings in the world around the island.
Banyan, in Cantonese, sounds as Yung Shue. It is also part of the name of a small town Yung Shue Wan in Hong Kong. The last word Wan means bay. So as a whole, the name means a bay with banyan trees. And the phrase Yung Shue to the older generation of Hong Kong people, is a memorable term for the old time when there was no school and most people on the island didn't know how to read and write. The stories they heard under the banyan trees was the only source of their education.
A few decades ago, Yung Shue Wan was still a small rural village, depending chiefly on agriculture and fishery. In recent years, It has expanded into a small town accommodating over 2000 people. The more laid-back lifestyle and lower rentals are its main attractions for people to live in here.
Walking through the narrow streets between the tightly packed buildings, you'll see shops and restaurants that reflect this mixed heritage: stalls with dried fish, shops selling hi-tech appliances and outlets that look as if they've been established by latter-day hippies.
