Geography

Mui Wo梅窩

•Absolute Location, Relative Location, Map

•Physical Characteristics, Man-made features,Culture Characteristics

•Movement

•Human environment interaction

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Map of Mui Wo

Legends in the map of Mui Wo Part 1: How to use and find locations on the Mui Wo map (Grids on the sides) To find the broad whereabouts of a location, the map uses coordinate grids, marked with capitals on the Y axis (top) and lower cases on the x axis (side). When someone wants to see the location, they will need a coordinate (example: “D, g”) that has one position of the 2 axis (“D” is the Y axis position, and the “g” is the X axis position). Now all the reader has to do is find those two points on the X and Y, and find the point where those 2 meet. The crossing point is the exact location. Part 2: Scale to find distance on the map To get the distance from point A to B, we use a scale. The scales are used to make maps small in size so they actually fit in your bags (example, 6 millimeters on the map is 50 meters on the island itself). To use the scale on the map you use a ruler to find how long the distance is on the map, and then calculate the distance on the map with whatever ratio is written on the scale. On this particular map, it tells you that one of the black/white rectangle is 50 meters (米=meters), and that from the zero mark to the end is 200 meters. Part 3: The compass rose

The star beside the scale with an N on the top is the compass rose. This indicates which direction different locations are, and indicates the basic major directions N, NW, W, SW, S, SE, E, NE. These can help readers if they happen to have a compass with them. Part 4: Legends on the map and the different symbols

!A legend chart showing the different fascilities available in Black River state forest The legend is the chart usually featured on the corner of a map, or at the front of the map book, which has the meanings of each symbols on the map. For example, a circle with a cross means that there is a hospital or a clinic on that position of the map. The symbols are there to essentially show the different locations without the use of words. Symbols can also be the different colorings on the map (which shows what kind feature the land has like lakes, buildings, mountains etc.) or the lines, which show roads and boarders. Legends are effective as the readers can get what kind of facility is on the area quickly

What does Absolute Location mean? Absolute location is “a way of describing the position of an object or place”, perhaps (but not limited to) on the surface of the earth. For example, a classroom number of home addresses are absolute locations. Absolute Location is the definitive location of a place using a recognized coordinate system. The latitude and longitude reference system on maps and globes gives an absolute location. So it is a precise longitudinal and latitudinal number, and now, GPS technology has made absolute location easier to achieve. Absolute location is not limited to only longitude and latitude and precise addresses also apply. (If you study Einstein's theory of relativity, you will learn that there are no absolute locations, but only relative locations.)

Can you see the RED dot? The absolute location of the red dot is 29°16' North, 94°49' West, and let me tell you how I get that… When looking at a map, latitude lines run horizontally. It’s the angular distance, in degrees, minutes, and seconds of a point north or south of the Equator. Lines of latitude are often referred to as parallels. (The Yellow and Red degrees)

The vertical longitude lines are also known as meridians. It is the angular distance, in degrees, minutes, and seconds, of a point east or west of the Prime (Greenwich) Meridian. Lines of longitude are often referred to as meridians. (The Green and Blue degrees) 29°16' North is the latitude, 94°49' West is the longitude.

Re lat i ve Locat ion First of all, what is relative location? According to the dictionary relative location is defined as: “A position described solely with reference to another location.

When someone talks about relative location he may relate to the one of these: -By giving compass Direction Compass directions help lead and direct a person to a certain place and/or may help guide someone from a specific place (e.g. The new plaza is North East of the Greens).

-By describing the location Describing the location is commonly used to give directions, however it must be specific in order to avoid confusion by accidentally describing the wrong building or place (E.g. Please go the tall yellow building with the massive golden arch logo).

-By giving and idea of distance Giving an idea of distance to someone is a good idea of other relative locations cannot be used and is also good when both persons have the same “idea of distance” in mind (E.g. go past the beach and walk up the road for about 50 meters until you see me).

-By giving directions and or street names By giving street names or just simply saying the direction is, if not, most used to tell someone to go somewhere. By giving directions you guide the person and by giving street names they are reassured that they are on the right track (E.g. as soon as you pass Wan Chai road continue straight then turn right at the first traffic light).

Culture of Mui Wo

Mui Wo is a area gifted by different elements of nature, including the mountains, hills, rivers, sea. A lot of the residents along with tourists enjoy cycling, hiking and different water sports. As they have these activity opportunities, along the streets of the town are cycling shops and boarding shops with a lot of business for cyclists and boarders and etc… In Mui Wo some people do clam-digging for pastime, as the sands of the silvermine beach is inhabited with hundreds of them and some village restaurants rent out digging tools to visitors, and they can cook the clams for them too. Compared to Discovery Bay, you wouldn’t say that Mui Wo is as developed as DB but there is deffinately more freedom. This is because cars are allowed in Mui Wo, most fascilities around the town are way cheaper. Generally Mui Wo is more quiet and peaceful than DB in the sense that there is almost no tall buildings, as a quiet rural place is a real luxury in HongKong with all the over-populated cities of Central and Kowloon. Because of the quiet nature of Mui Wo, generally there is a elderly population in the area, probably because the elders want to be more or less be out of the crammed cities and rather be relaxed in the villages and towns. Overall Mui Wo is a particullary rare rural area in Hongkong, and is the and a perfect get-a-way site to chill out and relax

Man Made Features Although most of Mui Wo is ‘based around’ natural landscapes there are still several man made features in Mui Wo. Please take a look of the Mui Wo map below:

Man-made features are something that is man made and is something that does not have a natural origin or created by humans themselves. When someone talks about a man made feature it is usually associated with engineering in large scale (for example bridges, tunnels or buildings) Man-made geographical features are things that were not made naturally by nature. Something like a resourvour, or a canal that wasn’t there until people put it there is a man-made geographical feature. The Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri may be a good example. In Mui Wo the most notable and biggest man made feature is the Silver Mine Bay Water Treatment Works. A water treatment work is where they clean the water taken from nearby rivers or lakes and make it suitable to be used or to drink. Mui Wo is commonly associated with the term Silver Mine Bay since during once Mui Wo was the cite were silver was mined and it is still famous for the mines that were once in function (they are not anymore). Note that a silver mine is a man made feature. Mui Wo is also commonly known in HK for its fantastic seaside resturants and dock (these are all man made features, expecially the dock that blends with natural features).

Mui Wo is a large town located on the eastern coast of Lantau, its location lies to the south of Discovery Bay and North of Pui Wo. Its unique location, having one of the most attractive and alluring beaches and seaside’s in Hong Kong, while still consisting its distinct heritage and culture that draws hundreds of tourists every year. Some say that Mui Wo is just another fishing village in Lantau, however they fail to note that Mui Wo is not only a blend of traditional Hong Kong and the new modernistic Hong Kong, therefore, Mui Wo is the heart of Lantau due to its cultural emphasis. Promotes a better lifestyle within the Lantau community in terms of health.

Did you know?

Mui Wo was created on an old refugee camp that a Chinese emperor created to escape the Mongols during the 17th century at war. The emperor later drowned while swimming.

Persuasive Article Cycling Trail Persuasive Article

According to the original Lantau concept plan (2004) and the revised Lantau plan (2007) it shows constant mentions and plans in creating a long cycling track that goes around the outer coasts of Lantau. Mui Wo looks at this in a positive note, mainly because of the following:

a) Expands economic growth inside Mui Wo

b) Promotes a better lifestyle within the Lantau community in terms of health

c) Also encourages local & eco-tourism

When comparing Mui Wo with other areas in Hong Kong, it is easy to conclude that Mui Wo is relatively poor and/or that life is relatively inexpensive. In fact, you can rent a house for only 10,000 HKD per month that includes a panorama view of the silvermine bay (1,500 square foot). Just the real estate shows how much Mui Wo lacks behind in the rest of developed Hong Kong (prices in the rest of HK is averagely much higher regarding the purchase or rent of apartments). The HK governments plan’s to ‘facelift’ all of Mui Wo, giving Mui Wo an effortless opportunity to improve its economic situation as a whole, however it worries some locals. These plans threaten the long history of Mui Wo and its traditional culture, it will also harm what local people call home and would change the things they call familiar and comfortable therefore making it impossible to preserve Mui Wo’s culture while thriving its growth.

However, is there an alternative?

Well yes, there is one plan that the locals smile upon, the plan is to create a about 10 mile trail that would encircle Lantau while giving a unforgettable experience and giving the biker a chance to enjoy Lantau’s unique geographical features.

[Above showing government’s plans for Lantau, the dotted red line shows the proposed cycling track]

This cycling track, however, will not be welcomed completely without a few conditions. In order to preserve the environment and (therefore the culture) garbage bins (preferably recycling bins) must be allocated on the trail every few dozen meters and must be completely emptied by workers once a month. This would almost ensure the environmental safety of Lantau by avoiding tons of littering by cyclers; we also recommend that signs and pictures promoting awareness and safety of the environment in order to encourage a constant green Lantau by not changing it.

Also, the biking trail would possibly be financially assuring to business’s in Mui Wo, as constant visitors would keep stocks out in shops located in Mui Wo. The biking trail not only might bring in cash but may also promote eco-tourism around Lantau, whether if it’s tourists from around the world or simply Hong Kong people from other areas, we strongly encourage people to come visit Mui Wo so that we can share our story, our culture and give you a Lantau experience!