A porcelain kiln site in Tai Po that once thrived during the Ming and Qing dynasties has suffered neglect and damage over six years since a conservation plan was shelved because of land ownership problems.
With no protection other than a wire fence, the Wun Yiu kiln site, on densely wooded slopes, lies exposed to the weather.
A visit by the South China Morning Post last week after recent heavy rainstorms found fresh abrasion marks on the slopes, and pieces of porcelain bowls and plates scattered around. Some pieces were apparently washed down the slope from within the fenced area, which was declared a monument in 1983.
A hole had been cut through the fence large enough to let a person enter. There was no watchman and people could tread on hundreds of pieces of bowls lying outside the fenced area, or even take them away.
The 1,500 square metres of government land fenced in is only 3 per cent of the old porcelain factory's five hectares, which includes private land. Apart from a handful of porcelain samples and display boards in the adjacent Fan Sin Temple, little information is available on the site.
Archaeological investigations at Wun Yiu in 1995 and 1999 discovered key elements of porcelain production, including clay quarrying pits, water mills, an animal-driven grinder and clay-soaking tanks.