Lau Ping-tai is proud to tell visitors about the many types of fruit she grows on her farm. 'Over there are the banana and guava trees,' says the 81-year-old grandmother, waving at the small plot of land in front of her village house.
'I also grow pineapples in my garden. Tonight, I will pick a couple for cooking. We used to have a shed for chickens and pigs but they went years ago when livestock farming was banned in the village.' Then the Shek O resident, who belongs to one of the oldest clans in the village, takes a long look at the densely-built neighbourhood and sighs: 'Now, I'm told my trees and house are next to go.' Lau's family is one of 12 Shek O Village households near the headland subject to squatter clearance next April. They will be re-settled outside Shek O.
But unlike the other 11 families, Lau will not lose her entire house. That is because half of the building stands on land that is on a 999-year lease, explains her 34-year-old daughter Lee Choi-ha.
The two-storey building looks worn, its front entrance partially hidden by modern developments on either side. Inside the house, a narrow stone staircase leads to the upper floor.
Lau has lived in this house since she married into the Lee family when she was 20 years old. She grew up in the old Shek O Village which made way for the golf course decades ago.
There is no information on what the land will be used for once it is cleared.
However, government officials have informed Lau the extension to her house and the old shed are standing on land that does not belong to the family and are, therefore, deemed illegal structures.