The village on the island was set up by American preachers from the then Taiwan-based True Jesus Church in order to shelter fishermen and their families who converted to Christianity in the 1960s.[2] Being so close to mainland China, before the transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong the island was a magnet for illegal immigrant swimmers, one reason being that the well lit public lavatory block was something of a beacon at night.[3] The single primary school on the island opened in 1958.[4] There used to be over 700 inhabitants called the Tanka, an originally non-Chinese ethnic minority who were mostly fishermen but most have moved over to cities in the United Kingdom[2][5] such as Newcastle upon Tyne,[6]Leicester, Sunderland, Elgin[4] and Edinburgh. The church on the island is still active.[7] The island had 8 inhabitants as of June 2008.[2]
Features
To promote tourism,[8] in April 2018 the Ap Chau Story Room opened for public visits on Sundays and public holidays.
Fresh water in Ap Chau is obtained from mainland China using an underground pipe.
Kut O Village Rural Committee (Tung Lok House) Limited operates a daily kaito service to both Ap Chau and Kat O from Sha Tau Kok. But since the Sha Tau Kok Public Pier is in a restricted area, only restricted area pass holders are permitted to access the pier and take the kaito.[12]
Best Sonic Industrial Limited operates kaito services to Ap Chau and Kat O from Ma Liu Shui pier on weekends and public holidays from 2018.[13]
^ abLiu, Garland (1998). "The Role of the True Jesus Church in Communal Development of the Chinese People in Elgin, Scotland". In Sinn, Elizabeth (ed.). The Last Half Century of Chinese Overseas. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. pp. 425–446. ISBN978-962-209-446-8.
