Sham Wan Lamma Island

From 6-25 April 1998, the Tenth International Workshop on the Marine Flora and Fauna of Hong Kong and South China was convened at the Swire Institute of Marine Science of the University of Hong Kong. Thirteen scientists from six countries and twenty-two scientists and students from Hong Kong investigated aspects of the marine flora and fauna of the Cape d'Aguilar Marine Reserve and the southeastern waters of Hong Kong. This was to obtain more information about the newly-established reserve (the only one in Hong Kong) and the changes that had taken place on the seabed in the southern waters since they were dredged between 1992-1995, respectively, and, in the latter case, to see if there had been any subsequent benthic recovery. The Proceedings of the workshop contains thirty-six original research papers dealing with aspects of the taxonomy and anatomy, behaviour and physiology of marine life in Hong Kong and Southern China. Papers also explore aspects of Hong Kong's marine parks and reserves, including the pollution of Hong Kong's marine life with particular reference to the Cape d'Aguilar Marine Reserve, established only in 1996, and the fauna of its territorial southern waters. The Workshop was sponsored by the University of Hong Kong, the Croucher Foundation and the K.C. Wong Foundation so as to bring eminent overseas scientists to Hong Kong to work with their local colleagues and students. The success of the workshop concept is self-evident in the contents and scope of these proceedings. This was the eighth workshop convened in Hong Kong since 1977 and these proceedings have become the single-most important body of information on the long-term changes that have taken place in its marine environment over an extended time-frame. The volumes are also the largest regional repository of information on the marine life of the territorial waters of Hong Kong and the northern rim of the South China Sea. For those with any interest in Hong Kong's marine environment, therefore, this proceedings and its predecessors are essential reading.

Hong Kong boasts a number of rich archaeological sites behind sandy bays. Among these backbeaches is Sha Po on Lamma Island, a site which has long captured the attention of archaeologists. However, until now no comprehensive study of the area has ever been published. Piecing Together Sha Po presents the first sustained analysis, framed in terms of a multi-period social landscape, of the varieties of human activity in Sha Po spanning more than 6,000 years. Synthesising decades of earlier fieldwork together with Atha and Yip’s own extensive excavations conducted in 2008–2010, the discoveries collectively enabled the authors to reconstruct the society in Sha Po in different historical periods. The artefacts unearthed from the site—some of them unique to the region—reveal a vibrant past which saw the inhabitants of Sha Po interacting with the environment in diverse ways. Evidence showing the mastery of quartz ornament manufacture and metallurgy in the Bronze Age suggests increasing craft specialisation and the rise of a more complex, competitive society. Later on, during the Six Dynasties–Tang period, Sha Po turned into a centre in the region’s imperially controlled kiln-based salt industry. Closer to our time, in the nineteenth century the farming and fishing communities in Sha Po became important suppliers of food and fuel to urban Hong Kong. Ultimately, this ground-breaking work tells a compelling story about human beings’ ceaseless reinvention of their lives through the lens of one special archaeological site. ‘A singular effort in the field of Hong Kong archaeology, Piecing Together Sha Po adopts a social landscape approach to chart the development of a single site over millennia of occupation, revealing as it does the untapped potential which careful field investigations hold for generating a better understanding of the region’s rich past.’ —Francis Allard, Department of Anthropology, Indiana University of Pennsylvania ‘This volume is the best overview of the early history of Hong Kong that I know. The authors have articulated patterns of human settlement at Sha Po in a masterly way that informs us not only of Lamma Island, or greater Hong Kong, but of Lingnan as a whole. I welcome it as the key source for specialists and the interested public alike.’ —Charles Higham, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Otago, New Zealand ‘It is rare indeed for a multi-period study of a region to not only synthesise a vast range of archaeological material but also include incisive points of theory alongside that narrative, such as the need to understand evidence at a landscape level and questioning the utility of “Neolithic” and “Bronze Age” categories. This is such a book.’ —Steve Roskams, Department of Archaeology, University of York

Hong Kong is strategically located between the temperate Japonic and the great tropical Indo-West-Pacific zoogeographic provinces. Influenced by the currents of the South China Sea and the huge outflow of fresh water from the Pearl River, Hong Kong's marine flora and fauna are extremely diverse. Temperate species may appear, if only briefly, during the cooler winter months. Conversely, air and water temperatures remain high enough for a strong tropical component: Hong Kong is comparatively rich in mangrove stands and reef corals are well developed subtidally. There is a strong north-west to south-east salinity gradient further enhancing diversity. Geologically, the Hong Kong shore is a 'drowned' coastline, deeply incised and with former mountain peaks represented by numerous off-shore islands. This book reviews the factors creating and maintaining Hong Kong's living shore, and describes the wide range of plants and animals found within the intertidal boundaries of the shore. A full range from exposure to shelter is to be found, from communities of the sheer rock faces, beaten by the storm waves of the South China Sea, to the denizens of mudflats in high shelter at the heads of harbours and inlets. For the first time the occupants of these various shores are illustrated and described, both as individual species and as components of a rich mosaic of life. The factors of pollution and development that are destroying the diversity of the rich complex of shores are described.

The Encyclopedia of Prehistory represents also defined bya somewhatdifferent set of an attempt to provide basic information sociocultural characteristics than are eth on all archaeologically known cultures, nological cultures. Major traditions are covering the entire globe and the entire defined based on common subsistence prehistory ofhumankind. It is designed as practices, sociopolitical organization, and a tool to assist in doing comparative materialindustries,butlanguage,ideology, research on the peoples of the past. Most and kinship ties play little or no part in of the entries are written by the world's their definition because they are virtually foremost experts on the particular areas unrecoverable from archaeological con and time periods. texts. In contrast, language, ideology, and The Encyclopedia is organized accord kinship ties are central to defining ethno ing to major traditions. A major tradition logical cultures. is defined as a group ofpopulations sharing There are three types ofentries in the similar subsistence practices, technology, Encyclopedia: the major tradition entry, and forms of sociopolitical organization, the regional subtradition entry, and the which are spatially contiguous over a rela site entry. Each contains different types of tively large area and which endure tempo information, and each is intended to be rally for a relatively long period. Minimal used in a different way.

This first edition of South China Sea is the successor to Stephen Davies and Elaine Morgan's Cruising Guide to Southeast Asia, Volume I (Imray). Building on the earlier work, this new edition has been updated and expanded to include coverage of Cambodia and Taiwan. For the past 12 years, Jo Winter has been cruising these waters in her 45' Island Packet, Brother Wind, and she describes it as one of the most diverse, beautiful, unspoilt and undiscovered sailing areas in the world. The book covers thousands of miles of coastline, a multitude of islands and inland up many of the region's navigable rivers. Along with a comprehensive range of information to help with planning a cruise in this region, the introductory section details weather information, including coverage of typhoons, and also indicates piracy risk areas to be avoided. Sailing directions include small scale area plans to orientate the navigator and larger scale plans to show details of harbours and anchorages. Full colour throughout, the plans and numerous photographs illustrate key features and places. Whether transiting the region or planning a more extended cruise along any of the coastlines bordering the South China Sea, this guide is an essential companion.

Often called the most breathtaking city in the world, Hong Kong has something for every traveler. Time Out Hong Kong is the perfect companion for navigating this overwhelming metropolis that expects over 20 million travelers to visit the duty-free port this year. The experts at Time Out help travelers navigate through this shopper's fantasy, from the old-world markets and bazaars to designer boutiques including how to buy jade. Time Out food mavens helps travelers sort through the offerings of over 9,000 restaurants and the art of "yum cha"(drinking tea). The guide includes suggested itineraries for visits anywhere between one and five days, as well as side-trips to Macau, the buzzing boomtown of Guangzhou, and beaches and museums that are an hour by ferry.