Left to decay in 1999, Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir 長沙灣屠場 is a prize feature on many an urban explorer’s bucket list.
Surrounded by barbed wire and permanently guarded, the site – which opened in 1969 – is notoriously difficult to access.
After repeated scouting missions, Team HK URBEX finally found a way in.
They had to make a quick getaway after they were discovered by security guards, but they returned, alive, with photos.
The abattoir was one of three main slaughter houses in the territory – this one dealt with beef, pork and mutton.
A colonial relic, the gritty old building stands in contrast to its surroundings on Cheung Sha Wan Road.
The site is famous for what locals refer to as the ‘Spirit Buffalo’ case.
In 1983, it is said that a water buffalo was heard ‘crying’ and ‘begging for its life’ right before its slaughter. Workers were so taken aback by the incident that they refused to kill it and, instead, released it into the wild.
‘Spirit Buffalo’ lived out its years in Tsz Wan Shan until 1994.
An effort to turn the compound into an arts hub failed, partly due to artists complaining of the ghostly, haunted atmosphere.
The artist’s village was instead set up at the Cattle Depot in Tokwawan.
Check out the HK URBEX post from earlier this month, as the team visited Hong Kong’s ‘most haunted’ mansion.
Today’s images are courtesy of the HK URBEX team – follow them on Facebook.
Exploring forgotten corners of HK where nature is winning…
- Abandoned TV studios near Sai Kung.
- Abandoned Villages in HK’s ‘Wild West’ (Fan Lau).
- Central’s Abandoned Prison and Police Station.
- Fung Hang Semi-Abandoned Village.
- HK’s Abandoned ‘Ghost Island’, Yim Tin Tsai.
- Kuk Po, Part 1: Photos from HK’s Borderzone Ghost Town.
- Kuk Po, Part 2: More Shots from the Abandoned Village Outpost.
- Kuk Po: Part 3: Interview with the Only Villager.
- Kuk Po, Part 4: Plover Cove Abandoned Ghost Town Revisited.
- Lai Chi Wo: The Semi-Abandoned Hakka Walled Village in Plover Cove.
- Luk Keng Chan Uk Semi-Abandoned Village.
- Ma On Shan’s Abandoned Iron Mine Complex.
- Ma Wan Abandoned Town, Part 1.
- Ma Wan Abandoned Town, Part 2.
- MTR Tunnels Under Construction.
- Shing Mun Redoubt, HK’s Secret WWII Tunnels.
- The Creepy Abandoned Holiday Resort of Broken Dreams, Part 1.
- The Creepy Abandoned Holiday Resort of Broken Dreams, Part 2.
- The Half-Submerged Cargo Ship Currently Abandoned off Cheung Chau.
- So Lo Pun: HK’s Ancient ‘Haunted’ Abandoned Village.
- Tung Ping Chau, Part 1: Sunrise on Hong Kong’s Furthest Flung & Wildest Island.
- Tung Ping Chau, Part 2: The Abandoned Hamlets of Hong Kong’s ‘Jumanji Island’.
- Tung Ping Chau, Part 3: The Abandoned Military Base on HK’s Wild Outpost.
- Tung Ping Chau, Part 4: Video discussing HK’s Abandoned, Wild Island Outpost.
- Wanchai’s Abandoned Police Station.
- Yung Shue Au & Sam A Tsuen Ghost Villages