Fan Kam Road, Fanling

Published: 12:00am, 16 Oct 2011

The trees lining Fan Kam Road provide welcome shade along a route that cuts through the heart of the northern New Territories. Trees were planted by the British along most main roads in the New Territories and add a pleasantly medicinal scent to the fresh air in this green part of Hong Kong.

Fan Kam Road takes its name from its northern starting point in Fanling, and its southern destination, Kam Tin, near Yuen Long. At its northern end, the road cuts through the twin courses of the Hong Kong Golf Club, where privileged players in polo shirts are accompanied by female caddies in Hakka headgear.

Take a left turn as you head south past the courses and you'll enter a different world. Small farmhouses stand along the narrow road, low-slung build- ings of concrete or brick, always with ramshackle additions in corrugated iron - and a pack of barking guard dogs to keep intruders at bay.

You'll also pass the Tai Lung Experimental Station, which has been running organic farming field trials under government auspices since 2000. The four-hectare facility is looking into pest-control techniques to help traditional farmers move away from insecticides to more eco-friendly methods.

A kilometre or so farther down a narrow road, there's a dog-training facility and then signs for Holiday Farm, which is defying the death of agriculture in the New Territories by adding new attractions. Next door, there is another farm, which operates as a refuge for the city's dwindling number of wild cows when the government carries out another of its unnecessary roundups. A large herd stands forlornly in a muddy pen.

Ping Kong Village lies a little beyond the farmland, a cluster of traditional dwellings along the start of Shek Sheung Ho stream. The massive tower blocks of Sheung Shui and Fanling loom on the skyline, a reminder that this bucolic part of Hong Kong is removed more in outlook and activity than in actual distance from the city.

Fanling ('powder mountain') takes its name from a bright-white rock in the nearby ridge

Around Fan Kam Road

1 Farm fresh

Holiday Farm (tel: 2670 2345; www.hkhfarm.com) is a functioning farm, but has children's rides such as roundabouts and swings. Children can also buy carrots or bread to feed to the rabbits, guinea pigs, goats, pigs, fish and turtles on the 1.5-hectare farm. The farm makes a mean mint milk tea (HK$12 per cup) and is also known for its charcoal-grilled chicken (HK$98). Staff will fire up the barbecue pits and provide seasoned meats if you want to grill for yourself.

2 Tee time

Founded in 1889, the Hong Kong Golf Club first teed off in Happy Valley, then opened its Deep Water Bay short course in 1898. Fanling was selected as the site for a full 18-hole course, which opened in 1911, and a second course was added 20 years later. The club survived near-bankruptcy after the second world war to become one of the city's most exclusive private clubs.

3 The beating heart

The vast North District Hospital complex was fast-tracked for completion to serve the burgeoning new towns nearby and the rest of the northern New Territories. The 600-bed facility opened in 1998 after five years of construction. Doctors here perform more than 10,000 operations a year and treat about 160,000 outpatients.

Average house price HK$2 million for a 2,100 sq ft village house in Ping Kong Village

Average rent HK$7,000 for the same house

Nearest shops 10 to 15 minutes away by minibus or car, in Fanling or Sheung Shui

Nearest ATM Jetco at North District Hospital, HSBC at Ching Ho Estate

Nearest MTR In Fanling, 15 minutes by minibus

Nearest restaurants Barbecue pits and noodle shop at Holiday Farm, or dim sum restaurants in Fanling and Sheung Shui

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