British author writes book on Hong Kong’s New Territories to preserve its history

Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)

When visiting Hong Kong, tourists usually picture Central’s vast skyscrapers or Mong Kok’s neon lights and hearty street food. However, British writer, photographer, and recently debuted author David Sutton wanted to shed light on an overlooked part of the city: the New Territories.

In September 2023, Sutton published Exploring Hong Kong’s New Territories, a guide to the lesser-known history and destinations in this massive region, from Lantau Island to Sai Kung.

Sutton, who moved to Hong Kong in 1986, admitted that he rarely visited the area when he first arrived in the city.

“[People] know that the New Territories is there, but they don’t actually get up there,” he said. “I spent most of my time in Hong Kong feeling like that. When you’re working full-time, it’s difficult to get there.”

But about a decade ago, while working for Young Post in Tai Po, Sutton discovered this was where the British formally took possession of the New Territories in 1899. This spurred a six-day war with villagers who were unhappy with the occupation, and about 500 of them were killed.

As Sutton read up on the war, he was inspired to find out more about this part of the city, but he struggled to find English-language books that satisfied his curiosity.

That was when he began writing about the New Territories’ history, drafting it into a book in 2020.

“Most of what the tourist stuff is, it promotes things like Disneyland and shopping,” he said. “They don’t look back into their own history.”

While the city – especially its skyline – continues to expand, Sutton hopes the New Territories will remain largely untouched.

“At the moment, [it’s] vast, expansive, green,” he noted. “Development has to happen, but I worry whether it happens in the right places.”

He aims for his book to play a part in documenting Hong Kong’s past and protecting its future.

“Things are going to keep getting demolished unless people show they care about it. Some of the temples are hundreds of years old – what records do they have?”

He encourages young Hongkongers to seek out these stories and record them: “To get good history, you need to talk to the elderly people ... in the New Territories before [their knowledge] is lost forever.”

Use the crossword below to test your knowledge of the vocabulary words in the story.

Suggested answers

Think about it: Yes, we should document Hong Kong’s past. It’s important to know about our history and keep track of things even if they’re getting demolished. Then, future generations can learn from the past, too. (accept other reasonable answers)

Answer this: He was inspired from learning about a six-day war that happened after the British took possession of the New Territories.

Quick question: I understand that the city needs to develop, but we should keep most of the New Territories green and intact for future generations to enjoy. (accept other reasonable answers)