The Rapid Development of Tung Chung

The New Town is located along the North Lantau Coast and is separated from the Airport Island of Chek Lap Kok by a water channel.

The North Lantau Highway (NLH) and the MTR Airport Express Line pass through the area to link with the airport island.

MTR Tung Chung Line also passes through the area with terminus at the Tung Chung Railway Station at the Town Centre

The iconic Tung Chung Cable Car system (Ngong Ping 360) links up Tung Chung with Ngong Ping via the angle stations at the Airport Island and Nei Lak Shan.

Human settlement on Lantau Island could be traced back to the Northern Sung Dynasty as a famous salt production base and later on a fishing centre and agricultural base.

Two declared monuments in Tung Chung, namely Tung Chung Fort and Tung Chung Battery which was built in 1729 and 1817 respectively, witnessed the once strategic location of Lantau as a defence point at the southern tip of Pearl River Estuary.

Currently, Tung Chung is served by one MTR station, which is the Tung Chung Station at the end of Tung Chung Line. The yellow structure is the station.

The adjacent mall, Citygate Outlet, provides comprehensive shopping experience targeting mainly at visitors, as well as hotel and office space.

Housing mix could also be observed, with both private housing and public housing estates present in the area.

In the figure, the private estate on the left is Tung Chung Crescent while the one on the other side is the public estate Fu Tung Estate.

The area covered in the previous snapshots is in the 500m radius from the station, indicating the area is in walkable distance from Tung Chung Station.

However, it should be noted that a large area of Tung Chung New Town remains out of range from the MTR station. We are zoomed to east of Tung Chung Town Centre. Although there are high density residential developments, it is not walkable from the Tung Chung station.

Same case for west of Tung Chung station, where Yat Tung Estate, one of the largest public housing estates in the area is situated.

As Tung Chung is a rather newly town developed from scratch, Tung Chung does not have any old buildings.

Therefore, unlike old districts like Sham Shui Po, the building density is lower with emphasis on high-rise buildings to gain more space for public space yet still be able to accommodate substantial amount of population.

The darker green area indicates the presence of open space, which is quite extensive when compared to urban areas in Hong Kong. Note that some open space are not shown in the map like the one at the rooftop of Citygate Outlet.

To begin with, the number of markets (including public markets and supermarkets) is still growing, and they are adequate to cater to residents' need. However, it is undoubtedly that the choices are still limited as the markets are scattered across the area.

Public market is very limited in the area. It was not until March 2023 did Tung Chung Temporary Market, the only public market in the area, began its operation since the Government sold the former public market to LINK, providing affordable options for residents.

As part of the Market Modernization Scheme, Tung Chung temporary Market also incorporated innovative designs, with a wide aisle to facilitate ventilation, as well as an open roof for better illumination.

Tung Chung tends to be more attractive to those who work in the airport or related sectors. This could be due to the poor accessibility to major urban areas in Hong Kong

The Map shows the drive time from a school at Yat Tung Estate. Thanks to the availability of North Lautau Highway and Tuen Mun Chek Lap Kok Tunnel Road, traffic could reach Tuen Mun Area, West Kowloon Area as well as a small part of the western Hong Kong Island within 30 minutes.

In 2012, the Tung Chung New Town Extension (TCNTE) Study was commissioned by the Government with the overall objective to extend Tung Chung into a distinct community and propose a development plan which can meet housing, social, economic, environmental and local needs.

TCNTE is one of the important land supply sources to meet territorial housing and economic needs. Upon completion of TCNTE, 49,000 new flats will be provided with about 65:35 overall flat mix ratio between public and private housing.

The entire Tung Chung New Town will accommodate a population of about 270,000 (of which about 145,000 comes from TCNTE).

TCNTE will be served by new TCE and TCW stations on MTR Tung Chung Line.

To capitalize on the development opportunities presented by major new public transport links to the territory and also within Tung Chung, the concept of Transit-Oriented Development is utilized to create highly concentrated hubs of activity and residential areas in close proximity to the proposed new railway stations, maximizing development potential of development areas, and promoting energy efficiency and minimising carbon emissions.

In TCE, a Metro Core Area adjacent to the proposed TCE rail station will serve as an integrated development with housing, office and retail facilities.

Apart from new railway stations, a section of Road P1 connecting TCE with NLH will be constructed to provide external highway connection. A comprehensive road network has been designed in TCNTE to connect the residential sites, commercial sites and GIC facilities.

Public Transport Interchanges (PTI) will be provided to facilitate convenient transfer of various transport modes and enhancement of internal circulation.

Comprehensive pedestrian networks incorporated into the Linear Park system will link up the Metro Core Area and other residential sites with the waterfront, the town centre area and all the key public facilities and activity nodes such as the waterfront parks and marina.

Non-building areas are planned to serve as breezeways taken account of prevailing wind to improve air circulation and/or to provide major view corridors from the hillside to the sea area to the north. They are strategically placed in order to create a comprehensive breezeway system to promote better air ventilation and urban climate.