A granite slab above Tung Chung Fort’s entrance records 1832. Qing records called it Tung Chung Suocheng, or Tung Chung Battalion City, and identify it as the naval headquarters of the Right Battalion of Dapeng. The inscription anchors the building in a coastal defence system on Lantau.
From the journal
Tung Chung Fort: From Qing Garrison to Community Landmark
A granite date slab marks Tung Chung Fort’s 1832 construction; the compound later served as a police station, school and civic office.
In this district · Islands ↗The date above the gate
A garrison becomes a local institution
After the New Territories was leased to Britain in 1898, Qing authorities evacuated the fort. It was used as a police station, then Wa Ying College, the Rural Committee Office and Tung Chung Public Primary School. The school closed in 2003; the old military compound had served successive public needs.
A monument with an everyday past
Tung Chung Fort was declared a monument in 1979. Its history is not limited to its military origin: the same compound later held policing, education and community administration. The dates 1832, 1898, 1979 and 2003 mark turning points in a building repeatedly brought into public use.