Yuen Long New Town

Yuen Long New Town 元朗新市鎮
Nickname(s): Yuen Long
SAR	Hong Kong
District	Yuen Long District
Area
• City	11.7 km2 (4.5 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• City	148,000
• Density	13,000/km2 (33,000/sq mi)
• Urban	148,000
Website	www.districtcouncils.gov.hk/yl/tc
Mean solar time   UTC+08

Yuen Long New Town (Chinese: 元朗新市鎮; pinyin: Yuanlang Xin Shizhen; Jyutping: jyun4 long5 san1 si5 zan3) is a new town in the northwest New Territories, Hong Kong. It was developed from the traditional market town of Yuen Long Town (元朗市) from the late 1970s onwards.

As it is located in the centre of Yuen Long Plain, the town occupies the best location for villages in the surrounding area to sell their crops and fish. To the west is Ping Shan, south Shap Pat Heung, east Kam Tin, and north Nam Sang Wai.

Yuen Long Town was a traditional market town in the area also known as Yuen Long San Hui today, within the Yuen Long District in the New Territories. The market town and the adjacent Long Ping Estate, Yuen Long Industrial Estate, Tong Tau Industrial Area, YOHO Town, etc. developed into the Yuen Long New Town in the 1970s and early 1980s. The Hong Kong Government first put Yuen Long New Town on the list of new towns in 1972 and planned several large-scale housing estates. The first development started in 1974. In 1978, Yuen Long New Town was put on the list of second generation new towns. It served as a secondary administrative centre.

Although the new town started in the 1970s, it was developed much more slowly compared to the other new towns due to its long distance from urban Kowloon. Commuters needed to travel via other areas like Tuen Mun or Shek Kong with no rail transport. With the rapid development of an adjacent new town, Tin Shui Wai New Town, in the 1980s, the road network was drastically improved by the late 1990s. It was not until late 2003 that the West Rail Line was completed. These improvements spurred new waves of town development in the 2000s.

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