Yan Tun Kong Study Hall, also known as Yin Yik Tong, is located in Hang Tau Tsuen, Ping Shan. According to clan elders, the name of the study hall is based on the courtesy names of three ancestors of the Tang clan, namely the fourteenth generation ancestor Tang Wai-tak (courtesy name Yan-shaw), the fifteenth generation ancestor Tang Ji-fong (courtesy name Tun-fuk) and the sixteenth generation ancestor Tang Fung (courtesy name Ming-kong). The name Yin Yik Tong originates from one of the couplets in the study hall, which encourages the descendants of the clan to work diligently and uphold cardinal guides and constant virtues.

The year of construction of Yan Tun Kong Study Hall is hard to verify, but a plaque in the rear hall recording the large-scale restoration in the ninth year of the Tongzhi reign of Qing dynasty (1870) may provide clue to prove that the study hall was likely to be built no later than the Tongzhi reign of Qing dynasty. Besides commemorating the ancestors, the building housed a Bok Bok Chai study hall, which provided traditional private education to young clansmen. Students learned to read and write, and prepared themselves for the Imperial Civil Service Examinations and officialdom. The side chambers were used as accommodation for scholars.

Yan Tun Kong Study Hall is an exemplar of Lingnan traditional architecture in a two-hall-three-bay layout with a courtyard. The ridge and façade are adorned with plaster mouldings featuring auspicious motifs, as well as artistic decorations typical of Lingnan traditional architecture. The study hall has preserved many delicately crafted architectural components and relics, such as the altar, camel-hump shaped inter-beam blocks, eaves boards, couplets and stone blocks used for martial arts training.

In the early years, members of the Tang clan of Ping Shan engaged in both scholarly and military pursuits and took the civil or military Imperial Civil Service Examinations according to their talents. Two stone blocks, used for training by candidates of the military Imperial Civil Service Examinations, have been preserved in the rear hall of Yan Tun Kong Study Hall. According to clan elders, even though the stone blocks are very heavy and take two adult men to lift, the candidates would carry a block and walk a few laps in the courtyard to develop their arms and improve their physical stamina.

The Imperial Civil Service Examinations was abolished in 1905, but Yan Tun Kong Study Hall continued to provide modern education to young clansmen in the village and nearby areas until the establishment of Tat Tak Public School in 1931. The study hall had fulfilled its educational purpose but continues to enlighten members of the clan.

Opening Hours:
Monday and Wednesday to Sunday: 9am - 1pm and 2pm - 5pm
Closed on Tuesdays (except public holidays), Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and the first three days of Chinese New Year
(Temporarily closed from 12 August 2024 to 26 March 2025.)

Address:
Hang Tau Tsuen, Ping Shan, Yuen Long, New Territories.

Enquiry Hotline:
(852) 2208 4488