Ma Liu Shui is directly and phonetically translated to English from "馬料水" in Cantonese. It literally means "the water that the horses feed on". It was originally named "馬嫽水", with the same phonetic translation, literally meaning "the water that the horses play in".[citation needed]
According to legend of Hakkas, hundreds of years ago when the government of Bao'an County was riding his horse around towns to announce the collection of rice and crops, the horse stopped in the area and went down the hills to drink and play in the lake. It would not leave and looked as if it were at home. The Hakka villagers observed this strange phenomena and cleverly suggested that the horse may have originated from there, therefore the sense of belonging. They named the area "馬嫽水", which translates to "Ma Liu Shui" because of this.[citation needed]
History
Ma Liu Shui was a barren land inhabited by Hakkas until in 1956, Chung Chi College was allowed 10 acres of land in Ma Liu Shui to build their campus upon,[1] alongside opened a KCR station also named 'Ma Liu Shui station'[2] for people's convenience.
Another familiar landmark is the ferry dock in Ma Liu Shui. It has the only ferry service connecting the public to Tung Ping Chau, at the same time serving as the gathering spot for sightseeing trips to the coasts of New Territories, which explains its popularity on the weekends. It also had had a hovercraft service crossing the borders to Dameisha Beach, Shenzhen in the early 1980s, which had been closed down.
Ma Liu Shui is in Primary One Admission (POA) School Net 91. Within the school net are multiple aided schools (operated independently but funded with government money); no government schools are in this net.[7]
Restaurants in Ma Liu Shui spread mainly in 2 area: up on the hill inside the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) campus, and the Science Park along to coast. In between these 2 areas, tourist may also find a dining option in the Kerry Lake Egret Nature Park (白鷺湖互動中心).
A large group of small restaurants and canteens can also be found inside the Chinese University of Hong Kong campus to serve both the students and staff. A Maxim fastfood can be found in the University Station, whereas a McCafe can be located in Shaw College. New Asia College campus has a Chinese dumpling restaurant. Newer colleges also has quite a number of new food stalls which offers ox tail soup, fish balls and sushi rolls.
A KFC is also available in Chung Chi College campus.
There is an East Rail line station in Ma Liu Shui just by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. The station was originally known as Ma Liu Shui Station, but was later renamed University station. This is also because the Chinese University of Hong Kong is more well-known than the name "Ma Liu Shui". The Cantonese phonetics also had significant similarities with Ma Niu Shui (馬尿水), prompting the successful lobby of its name change in 1967. The station sign was changed on 1 January 1967. The MTR plans to build another station called "Science Park" in the Ma Liu Shui area.
Ferry
Ma Liu Shui ferry pier in 2009.
There is a ferry pier in Ma Liu Shui, from which regular ferry services run to remote areas including the islands of Tap Mun and Ping Chau in the northeast New Territories.[8][9] The former ferry service to Wu Kai Sha has now been replaced by a bridge across the Shing Mun River Channel to the Ma On Shan area.
Bus
Next to the railway station, there is a bus terminus. There are several bus routes of the KMB and several routes of Green minibuses. Most of them go to the nearby Ma On Shan area.
The following KMB bus routes terminate at the University MTR Station bus terminus:
87K: Kam Ying Court, Ma On Shan <-> University Station
87S: Kam Ying Court, Ma On Shan <-> University Station
99R: Sai Kung <-> University Station
272A: Pak Shek Kok <-> University Station
272K: Hong Kong Science Park <-> University Station
289K: Chevalier Garden, Ma On Shan <-> University Station
Cancelled bus routes which formerly terminated at the University MTR Station Bus Terminus:
84K: Chevalier Garden, Ma On Shan <-> University Station
287K: Ma On Shan Town Centre <-> University Station
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ma Liu Shui.
^"Brief History". www.ccc.cuhk.edu.hk. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
^"Greene, Geoffrey Philip, (1868–19 May 1930), General Manager Ceylon Government Railway, 1901; retired, 1923", Who Was Who, Oxford University Press, 1 December 2007, doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u210386
