Industrial and cultural heritage of the Ma On Shan Iron Mine landscape and the making of industrious Hong Kong

Abstract

Ma On Shan (MOS, literally ‘Saddle Hill’) is an extension of Shatin new town in Hong Kong. This area embeds the site of the now closed MOS Iron Mine and several related settlements at the Peak, Mid-Level and Pier Districts. The history of the MOS Iron Mine landscape sheds important light on the city's post-WWII development. The MOS is a typical historic urban landscape, a product of transnational urbanism, a joint-venture of local and Japanese investments made possible by the Cold War, and the retreat of faith-based organisations and poor refugees fleeing Chinese rule after 1949 practicing mutual support in a laissez-faire colonial city. The Japanese trained miners, explosive operators, mechanics and construction workers of the MOS Iron Mine contributed to infrastructure developments of modern Hong Kong. The associated settlements also epitomise the industrious spirit of Hong Kongers in the face of international and regional political volatilities, absence of government support, material shortage and economic hardship. Embedded in the MOS Iron Mine landscape is not only valuable industrial heritage bequeathed by multi-scalar transnational socio-economic and political developments but also the cultural heritage of reciprocity and mutuality among community members in local economic development, knowledge with continuing relevance for city-building today.