A Touch of Zen - Hsu Feng (1971) - Whitehead Point, Ma On Shan

The second Hong Kong location, that makes up the second part of the finale of A Touch of Zen, is Whitehead Point. After leaving Commander Hsu (Hang Ying Chieh) tied to some trees in the forest, the group continue their walk and it's here where they find him again, kneeling in the sand, with his two sons, in an apparent gesture of repentence.

This was a location that King Hu would return to use later in the finale of The Fate of Lee Khan and The Valiant Ones, but has also been seen on several other occasions. I usually refer to this place by its English name, Whitehead Point, but I believe its proper name in Chinese is Wu Kwai Sha Tsui (烏溪沙咀 - lit. dark creek sandy point).

I'm still not sure if this place was a quarry or not, but it was later turned into a Vietnamese refugee detention centre before being given over to storage. Currently it contains a cycle velodrome run by the HK Sports Institute and a golf driving range.

Legacy of Rage - Brandon Lee (1986) - Sai Sha Road, Ma On Shan

After some of the car chase takes place at the Tseung Kwan O landfill, all of a sudden we move to Ma On Shan and the area around Whitehead Point and Lok Wo Sha. The area was very much undeveloped at the time and I suspect that the Michael's house was largely just a facade constructed for the film.

The first image shows the view looking east, towards Ma Kap Lun and the range on the other side of Three Fathoms Cove. The second image is looking the other way with Grassy Hill in the distance.

The next images should be familiar to anyone who has read my posts for The Young Master  because it is closer to Whitehead Point. The key landmark here is the pointy hill in the background which is the northern point of Ma On Shan mountain. This can help narrow down the location to somewhere close to where Nin Wah Road meets LokWo Sha Lane. It looks like the house facade was constructed at the Whitehead Point-end of Lok Wo Sha Lane facing Ma On Shan. The last image below shows the view along Lok Wo Sha Lane with Wong Leng - a hill in north Tai Po - in the background.

The Fate of Lee Khan - Tien Feng (1973) - Whitehead Point, Ma On Shan

We were at this location not so long ago for Snake in the Eagle's Shadow, but here is the old quarry (assuming that's what it was, but actually I can't find any record of quarrying here) at Whitehead Point. This is the only other outdoor location utilised on this film and is where most of the outdoor action takes place, including the final fight between the rebels and Lee Khan.

The screencaps below are from various stages of the film, but I have ordered them so that the initial ones below show some of the identifiable background terrain that proves where we are looking (for the doubters), and the rest are just general shots inside the quarry area that show off some of the geographical features.

Looking SSE, Ngau Ngak Shan in the background

Looking almost directly south towards Tiu Shau Ngam

Ngau Ngak Shan again

Bottom right is the distant Kai Kung Shan (also see 3rd image here)

Again, looking east towards Kai Kung Shan

The rest of the screencaps are difficult to locate in terms of where they were inside the quarry area and perhaps I can do a later post where I can pinpont all these with more accuracy (although the last one shows Pat Sin Leng poking out from behind in the distance). For now though it's just some general views. Following on from its use as a filming location, it dropped out of favour when the Whitehead Point Vietnamese refugee camp was constructed.

Snake in the Eagle's Shadow - Jackie Chan (1978) - Whitehead Point, Ma On Shan

Returning to Ma On Shan and we head to the old quarry at Whitehead Point - just a quarried stone's throw away from Starfish Bay. This is where the finale takes place between Beggar Pai, Chien Fu and Master Shang. The quarry looks a bit different compared to the last time we saw it but peeping through the gaps in the rock in the background of one of the captures is the distinctive shape of Pat Sin Leng. In the lower picture the camera is pointing south east and the distant ridgeline (Kai Kung Shan - 雞公山) on the opposite side of 3 fathoms cove is visible in the far background.

Part of Pat Sin Leng poking through the gap, top right

Kai Kung Shan in the background

The Valiant Ones - Roy Chiao (1975) - Whitehead Point, Ma On Shan

There is a quick horse riding scene as Roy Chiao and buddy ride along the beach on their way home. It turns out we have seen this very same beach quite recently - it's the same beach along the north coast of Whitehead Point where the fighters landed at the beginning of DOA: Dead or Alive. However, the shots below show it as it was thirty years before (i.e. with less air pollution).

DOA: Dead or Alive - Devon Aoki (2006) - Whitehead Point, Ma On Shan

Once every has received their flying bladed invites, they board a private plane to take them to the island where it is held. It's here that they are told via video broadcast that in order to get there they must immediately don parachutes and bail out of the plane. The three main leads drift off course and set down on a tropical beach. In this case though, I can confirm, it is only sub-tropical and a short trip from the first location in Tolo Harbour (in fact only about 500 metres to the south of that location).

I'm not sure if this beach has a name but it is located on the north coast of Whitehead Point. If you want to see the exact spot then please click on the location link at the bottom of the post. Once again you can see Pak Sha Tau in the background. If you look carefully in the second image and you can just make out the dam wall of Plover Cove reservoir behind Holly Valance, in the distance.

A note for die-hard kungfu fans. The headland in the background of the top image is the same headland that forms the north shore of Starfish Bay  a location used for a whole plethora of old kung fu flicks (as can be seen on the left of the last two images in Andi's post here).

Bruce Lee & I - Betty Ting Pei (1976) - Whitehead Point, Ma On Shan

A long time ago, before the current golf driving range and even before the area was turned into a Vietnamese refugee camp (one of many) there was a quarry at Whitehead Point which was used on many occasions for filming. Nearby is the site of what was the location for the finale of Drunken Master and I also previously posted about this being used in The Young Master.

Anyway, here we see Bruce accepting a challenge from some dude he met in bar and he proceeds to knock seven bells out of the guys and his axe-wielding buddies. As a result we get some really good shots of the Tolo Harbour and Channel areas, including the Plover Cove Reservoir Dam wall.

Above. Looking NW from Whitehead Point. The ridgeline in the background is Wong Leng, along the same ridge that eventually becomes Pat Sin Leng (off camera to the right).

Two views of the point of Ma On Shan in the previous pictures. Below we are looking north east and can see the dam wall. The most striking thing though is the clear air and green hills.

And a look further to the east.