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Although their rights are protected, the original people have recently intermingled with immigrants in most aspects of life. Over time their distinctive identity has faded as they, and the immigrants, have increasingly blended into the Hong Kong population. The construction of the MTR line, although profoundly disruptive, connected Tsuen Wan to urban Hong Kong and the new airport. The central Tianhou temple was directly affected, but was preserved, and continues to be managed by the Rural Committee, although many immigrants worship there, especially Teochiu women devotees. In Kwan Mun Hau, although many members now live elsewhere, the lineages have remained strong, and the village united, as evidenced by a special ceremony and banquet on the day before retrocession. Their level of education and quality of life have greatly increased.

This chapter examines the cultural importance of Chinese immigration from Guangdong to the United States and the impact of the Chinese religious practices based on Tianhou in the United States. It traces the development of Tianhou in the early Northern Song Dynasty and its expanding network throughout the world to its eventual impact on the formation of San Francisco. Against the background of this diasporic religious practice and the corresponding life experience of Chinese-Americans, the legacy of trade in China takes on dimensions that are fundamentally transnational in shaping the history and cultural identity of the United States. The chapter also suggests that the ‘United States’ has been impressed fundamentally by a religious experience whose sense of commerce and kinship is not reducible to the axioms of Adam Smith.

Tsuen Wan’s history as a Hakka district dates to the 18th century, after the lifting of the coastal expulsion order in the early Qing dynasty. It was poor and rugged, with some reclamation on the coast, and was famous for its pineapples, which could be taken by boat to Hong Kong Island. A daily coastal market developed, and connections to urban Hong Kong grew as industry developed. The district was self-governing through a body attached to the central Tianhou temple, and relatively peaceful, with many small lineages. Wealthier families often hired long-term workers to help with farming and business, but women were also known for their hard work in agriculture, and kin relationships through women helped in creating a tight-knit society. There also were strong bonds among women, expressed through their laments and mountain songs.