Sha Tin

**Sha Tin**, also spelt **Shatin**, is a satellite town along  Shing Mun River in Sha Tin District of East New Territories, Hong Kong. Administratively, it is part of the Sha Tin District. It is one of Hong Kong's most prominent examples of new town developments in the 1970s. Together with its satellite town Ma On Shan, Shatin is the most populous city in the New Territories, with a 2011 population census of 630,273 within an area of . It is in the southern half of New Territories East below Tolo Harbour, it is the principal city of Sha Tin District, which is the second most populous district of the territory.

The city was founded in 1973 under the New Towns Development Programme of the Hong Kong government. Its current name was named after the nearby village of Sha Tin Wai. Housing the industrial area of Fo Tan, Shatin's economy once heavily relied on manufacturing, logistics and transportation. Since the late 1990s, it has undergone an extensive transition into areas such as business, service, tourism, entertainment, culture, education, sports, technology and scientific research. This has been marked by the building of Sha Tin Racecourse, Hong Kong Sports Institute and the Hong Kong Science Park in its outskirts.

## Geography

Sha Tin is in a valley, on both sides of the Shing Mun River, running from the southwest to the northeast. It is bordered by Tai Wai in the southwest and by Fo Tan (left bank) and Shek Mun (right bank) in the northeast.

### Cross-border activities

Because they are close to the Shenzhen border, towns in the northern parts of Hong Kong, notably Sheung Shui and Yuen Long, have become hubs for parallel traders who have been buying up large quantities of goods, forcing up local prices and disrupting the daily lives of local citizens. Since 2012, there has been an increase in mainland parallel traders arriving in the North District of Hong Kong to re-export infant formula and household products – goods popular with mainlanders – across the border to Shenzhen. The volume of smuggling activity spilled over into Tuen Mun and Sha Tin in 2014.

The first anti-parallel trading protest was started at Sheung Shui in September 2012. As government efforts to limit the adverse impact of mainland trafficking were widely seen as inadequate, so there have been further subsequent protests in towns in the North District including Sha Tin.

## Infobox (settlement)

- **official name**: Sha Tin
- **native name**: 沙田
- **image skyline**: Sha Tin Shing Mun River.JPG
- **imagesize**: 250px
- **image caption**: Shing Mun River Promenade
- **map caption**: Location within Hong Kong
- **pushpin map**: Hong Kong
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision type1**: Region
- **subdivision type2**: Districts of Hong Kong, District
- **subdivision name1**: New Territories
- **subdivision name2**: Sha Tin District
- **established title**: New town
- **established date**: 1973
- **seat type**: Administrative complex
- **seat**: 沙田政府合署, Sha Tin Government Offices
- **government type**: Local council
- **leader title**: Chairman
- **leader name**: Ho Hau-cheung
- **area total km2**: 35.87
- **population total**: 630,000
- **population as of**: 2010
- **population urban**: 630,000
- **population blank1 title**: Demonym
- **population demonym**: Shatinian
- **footnotes**: **Mean solar time**   UTC+08
- **timezone**: Hong Kong Time
- **utc offset**: +8


## Infobox (chinese)

- **pic**: HK Shatin Magistrates Courts 2008.jpg
- **piccap**: Lek Yuen Bridge over
Shing Mun River in Sha Tin central
- **c**: 沙田
- **j**: Saa1 tin4
- **y**: Sāa tìhn
- **l**: Sandy Field
- **altname**: Lek Yuen
- **t2**: 瀝源
- **j2**: Lik1 jyun4
- **y2**: Līk yùhn
- **l2**: Source of Trickling
- **altname3**: Shatin New Town
- **t3**: 沙田新市鎮
- **j3**: Saa1 tin4 san1 si4 jun2
- **y3**: Sāa tìhn sān sìh yún
- **l3**: Shatin New Town
- **alt population demonym**: Sha Tin Yau