Pottery Kilns at Wun Yiu Village in Tai Po
Wun Yiu, Tai Po was once a center of porcelain industry in the New Territories. As early as the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), clans of Man and Tse had started manufacturing the blue and white porcelain. The Ma clan, a group of Hakka people originated from Changle county in Guangdong province, settled in Tai Po and purchased the kilns from the Man clan in 1674 (the 13th year of Kangxi reign of the Qing dynasty). The industry declined in the early 20th century due to the competition from good quality and inexpensive porcelain produced by other coastal kilns in Guangdong. The kilns at Wun Yiu finally ceased to operate in 1932.
In 1995 and 1999, archaeological investigations at Wun Yiu discovered the remains illustrating the complete process of porcelain production such as china clay quarrying pits, water-mills, animal-driven grinder, clay soaking tanks and dragon kilns. They all are important cultural heritage of Hong Kong.
Pottery Kilns at Wun Yiu Village in Tai Po were declared monuments in 1983.