July 6 (Lunar calendar: May 19), 2023 Thursday | Dawnxisoul393art
《The Coast of Grass Island》, painted by dawnxisoul393
The island we went to sketch and paint on is a lesser-known island called "Grass Island". This island is not far from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, where Daniel did two years of research work when he was in the fieldwork phase of his Doctoral research and returned to Hong Kong from the UK to do fieldwork for his dissertation. The island is almost at the easternmost tip of Hong Kong, near the country park in eastern Sai Kung, and has an area of 1.69 square kilometers. This outlying island north of Sai Kung, with its green grass, blue sea, blue sky, and fishermen's culture, allowed Daniel to get away from the hustle and bustle and relax his mind after his busy research work at that time. Because of the remote location, not many ferries traveled there every day, so the number of people going there was quite small. At that time, Daniel every time he came here, can really feel the unique desolation of the island, but no lack of beautiful scenery, the mood is particularly soothing. We took the ferry from Mui Wo to Central early in the morning, took the MTR to Kowloon Tong Station, then transferred to the Kwun Tong Line, went to Diamond Hill, got out of the MTR station, and took the 92 bus to the Sai Kung terminus.
The Sai Kung pier showed a blue view in the sunlight. We transferred to bus No. 94 to Wong Shek Pier. The morning at Yellowstone Pier was very beautiful. We were enchanted by the sailboats on the sea and the seagulls flying in the sky. We took the ferry from Yellowstone Pier to the island. In addition to the ferry, there were private motorboats between Yellowstone Pier and the island, which Daniel used to take at that time, without a schedule, and a boat with about 20 people. We took the ferry to the island. The ferry stirred up a thousand waves, snowy white waves at the side of the boat. The island is an island located in the northeast of Hong Kong and its English name is "Glass Island". When the ferry reached the small pier on the island, we saw that there were not many fishermen and houses on the island, and the white clouds, green grass, and sea breeze were displayed before us.
The island is small but clearly marked with routes. Hong Kong has really done a good job in this regard. Sometimes, even when we arrived at an unfamiliar place, even if no one asked for directions, there were clear directional signs to make sure we didn't get lost. If we wanted to describe the island in one word, it would be "paradise". The island is so beautiful that it can only be portrayed as the Garden of Eden. Because the island is so small, it was not too much effort to walk around the island. We could enjoy the scenery as we walked. The weather that day was not particularly good, it was cloudy and the clouds were quite thick and low, but in such weather, it was very cool. During our walk, there was a small breeze blowing across the mountain paths. It was comfortable without the scorching sun. The grass on the island was growing naturally but it looked very neat and more like artificial vegetation.
The island was also a paradise for cattle, cattle were everywhere on the grass. The cattle on the island, like those in Mui Wo, were gentle and not afraid of people at all. When we were intoxicated with the beauty of painting, they may quietly approach us. Some of them lied down to rest, some ate grass, and some walked on the grass. Even if we leaned very close to draw them, they were a relaxed look. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery in the sea viewing pavilion on the hillside and taking a short break to paint on the grass. Then we continued to walk along the mountain path, and soon we saw two square rocks stacked up and down on the shore, about six meters high, standing miraculously. The piled rocks looked like a pagoda from a distance, and together with the pagoda gate cave nearby, the whole looked like a door to the sea, so the ancients called this island the "Buddha Pagoda Gate".
The Grass Island of Hong Kong
We felt that Grass Island has an ineffable and special charm. We pushed the baby stroller around the island, sketching and painting all the way, listening to the "laughing" and "crying" sounds of the sea. It was the ultimate spiritual treat. When we were painting, we talked to the islanders who were interested in our paintings and learned about the fishermen's culture on the island, and we gained a lot. One of the main streets of the island, "Haibang Street（Waterfront Street）", best reflected the style of the fishing island. The seafood in the restaurant was very fresh and delicious, and the dried seafood produced locally was very rare. After passing Haibang Street and climbing the stone steps, we saw three parallel ancient temples - "Tian Hou Temple", "Guan Emperor Temple" and "Water Moon Palace". Among the three ancient temples, Tin Hau Temple has the longest history. This ancient temple was built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties to protect the fishermen on the island and it has a history of over 400 years.
It was said that underneath a "sacred table" in the temple there was a secret passage leading to the "Pagoda Gate Cave" on the east coast of the island， where people could hear the sound of wind and waves and predict storms. Walking along the path on the left of an abandoned school, we saw a vast grassland. At this time, we could probably understand why the island was named "Grass Island" in English. Further on, there were only mountains, wild rocks, and trees, and there was no sign of houses. High and low, we walked a small mountain road and climbed a low slope. In front of us, there was the sea, which was bright and cheerful. On our right side, there was a path leading to the top of the mountain, which was not high. We put our baby stroller at the foot of the mountain, hugged our daughter Little Dawnxi and climbed the mountain to experience the feeling of watching and painting the sea from a high place.
When we got to the top of the mountain, we found a corner nearest to the sea and sat on the ground. We began to draw. All the sounds of nature were accompanying us: the chirping of birds, the fine sound of the sea breeze blowing bushes, the whispering of distant cattle, the churning of waves, and the roar of seawater hitting the reefs. Although there were many voices, our hearts were quiet. After finishing our paintings on the mountain and preparing to go down the mountain along the original road, we found a path, winding and slowly extending towards the sea. We went down the mountain slowly along the path. Unable to stand the temptation of beautiful scenery, we still painted all the way. The sun shows its face every now and then to show its presence as if to tell us that it won't suddenly rain and all we have to do is just walk slowly and calmly on the path.
The time passed quickly, gradually, the sunset. At this time, the island was the most beautiful, there was no colorful, only the dreamy orange, red, and yellow remained in the sky. The sunset carefully portrayed the floating clouds, the color of the clouds changing endlessly, a while white, a while golden yellow, a while half purple and half yellow, a while half gray and half red, really colorful. The sky was rendered as beautiful as a watercolor painting. We sorted out the paintings we drew on the island today and were ready to go home. At that moment, we saw a ferry slowly pulling into the pier, and we walked quickly towards the pier, just in time to catch the ferry. We have been to many islands in Hong Kong and we loved every one of them, however, Grass Island is the quietest of the islands we have been to. Although the transportation to the island is inconvenient, perhaps it is because of this that tourists are rare and so quiet, and tourists' tents that are difficult to see elsewhere can be seen here.
When we left the island, it was not dark yet. The colorful tents, green grass, blue sea, and blue sky formed a great beauty. Some of our friends used to build tents on the island for a few days just to experience this peaceful life that we can't experience at all in the heart of Hong Kong. We deeply appreciate the refreshing feeling when facing the sea. It was such a pleasant thing to be on a beautiful island, listening to the sound of the waves and enjoying the warm and refreshing sea breeze!
The End
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