This post was originally written in May 2021.
On the road to the industrial estate, I always noticed these concrete blocks. They are on a flat piece of ground that appears to be a cutting, because "natural flat land doesn't exist in Hong Kong".
According to the defence map, this spot was meant for an electric search light which would scan the channel for invading ships. I thought that there had to be a path up to the battery, which might lead me to more ruins.
After following a few hiking flashes and poking around in the bush for a while, I found this old set of stairs. By this point I had managed to somehow twist my hedge clippers so that they were no longer effective at cutting. From this point on, I found I had to crawl.
Trying to follow the stairs, I found myself coming close to these strange boxes. "Haha", I thought to myself. "They look like those beehives amateur beekeepers use!"Then I looked closer. #bees
Rather than risk pissing off a hive of bees, I crawled under the vine canopy past old stone walls, ever working my way up to where I knew the road was.
After struggling through vines and creepers and God knows what else kinds of vegetation, I suddenly burst out into ... this.The battery had an entire lower fucking platform that I was completely unaware of. And it was/is intact!
It's hard to describe. I was literally jumping for joy; the place didn't appear on any maps I'd ever seen. And it was huge!
Even the blast walls were intact!
Going towards the blast wall, I was greeted by the remains of three mostly intact bunkers. The roofs of two had collapsed, but one was still up and the inside was CLEAN. Clean!
Standing on top of the blast wall. Part of the middle has collapsed.
Outside the blast wall there are trenches, which have mostly silted up but definitely look like they were big enough for a man to walk through.
A panorama shot taken from standing on top of the blast wall
Not quite sure what this is for. It's outside of the blast wall.
If you've made it this far, then here's a treat for you. The holy fucking grail of the whole site, found inside one of the bunkers. It's the signature of the Royal Engineers who built the place, and the date that they finished.
My professor friend says F Company were locally recruited and trained volunteers. So the battery was built by Hong Kongers for the defence of Hong Kong. A great thought as I searched for how the hell to get out (eventually found an exit path). Until next time!