Looking at its dilapidated appearance, it is hard to believe that Cha Kwo Ling was once a vibrant village with a population of 20,000 people. In fact, Cha Kwo Ling village actually has a longer history than Hong Kong itself—it is more than 100 years old and was established before Hong Kong became a British colony. The village had its heyday in the 50s, when it was surrounded by an abundant granite mine which provided employment for many of the villagers. The land was also rich with a type of red clay, the raw material for making cosmetic rouge. During the Civil War in China, thousands of refugees escaped to Hong Kong and many chose to make Cha Kwo Ling their home. The penniless refugees built a maze of rickety shacks around the original houses and the village started to expand and take on a more ramshackle and run-down appearance. It was due to this almost shanty town type of housing that Cha Kwo Ling became known as a “squatter village.” Between 1983 and 2006, three big fires burned down many of the squatter houses and lots of villagers were rehoused to government public housing estates. Now there are only about 3,000 people living in the village but community spirit remains strong and the villagers are as proud as ever to call Cha Kwo Ling their home.