【Raynor Shaw, geotechnical expert of Civil Engineering and Development Department】

Raynor Shaw loves standing on the top of Lion Rock to view magnificent Kowloon, with towering buildings in Kowloon City, Kwai Chung Container Terminals, and the runway of the old airport. The geological expert has deep insight into the stratigraphy in Hong Kong. We consulted him about how to appreciate hard rocks, and he said soil is the source of life, and so Hong Kong people should learn more about and get closed to the soil.

Raynor Shaw was a scout when he was young and developed a love for the earth in the course of out-reaching training. All mountains and stones in the world are his good friends. “I often went camping and mountaineering at that time. Later, when I enrolled in college, I naturally selected geology; still later, I determined to take geomorphology as my doctorate course, studying soil, landforms and the history of crustal movements.”

After obtaining the doctor's degree, Raynor Shaw left his native UK to lecture in Canada. In the meantime, he spared time to tour particular geosites around the globe. He once lived in Africa and mined diamond and riverbed minerals for a private company. In 1983, Raynor Shaw came to Hong Kong and worked for Civil Engineering Department. He studied the high-altitude pictures and records of the landforms in Hong Kong to analyze the geological features and long-term changes.

Geology is not only meant to tell where there is diamond and where we can build houses. In fact, regional customs are usually shaped by the geological environment in that region. For example, people living along shores mainly live on fishery and eat much seafood, while desert dwellers live a hard life and are persevering. Therefore, research on rocks and soil is research on humanity rather than pure tourism.

From another perspective, many people love flowers, grass and trees, but if there is no appropriate soil or geology, where can these beautiful flowers and sweet fruits grow? Will there be the insects and animals that live on them? Stones don't know how to ornament themselves but just stay on the ground surface. However, every single grain of soil on the earth make its contribution to support life in forests and rivers.

Most geosites in Hong Kong are located in the country and marine parks. Despite continuing promotional efforts of the government and private organizations in recent years, outing is still not quite popular in Hong Kong. Outing is a recognized healthful activity, but the statistics of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department show that the number of tourists to the country parks is 11 million each year, so, given 7 million people in Hong Kong, each person tours the country parks only 1.5 times per year on average. Considering that some people may hike several times in a year, most people may not have been to the country parks at all in a year. Raynor Shaw thinks that many people are still not ready to experience the nature in person, so greater efforts need to be made to strengthen promotion.

“Few people know the rock landscapes in Hong Kong and they will go to Australia to view rocks. I also hear some guides say shopping is the only selling point and one day's stay in Hong Kong is enough. No wonder about that, because Hong Kong people themselves are not quite clear about the natural treasures in their own home.”

“For fear of safety accidents, the secondary schools in Hong Kong seldom organize their students to conduct geographical investigations outdoors. However, the people in a country or region won't treasure the environment of their own if they don't clearly understand their own lands. If Hong Kong people don't know how the landforms in Hong Kong were formed or what geological changes the earth has undergone, how could Hong Kong urge the next generation to protect the environment and treasure resources?”

“I talked with some secondary school students and even college students, and found many of them didn't know where Tai Mo Shan is.” Although the natural sceneries in Hong Kong don't rank among world-level scenic wonders, some landforms can match places of interest abroad. Raynor Shaw said, “MacLehose Trail is a world-level hiking trail. The hexagonal columns at High Island Reservoir and weathered landforms at Tai Mo Shan along it are quite absorbing.”

“To be honest, when I came to Hong Kong in the beginning, I didn't notice the country sceneries here. By occasional outing, I was overwhelmed by the natural landscapes in Hong Kong. I took a fancy to Hong Kong right away and decided to live in Hong Kong with my family.” Raynor Shaw and his wife and children once participated in the annual grand hiking trailwalker matches, leaving plenty of sweat and footprints on MacLehose Trail.

Raynor Shaw wrote several books, which introduce to the public his geological knowledge built up over dozens of years and the rock landscapes in Hong Kong. However, book dealers were reluctant to invest in serious books on nature, so Raynor Shaw published his first book at his own expenses, indicating how unpopular geology was in Hong Kong. His “Hong Kong Landscapes: Along the MacLehose Trail”, which describes the landforms along the MacLehose Trail, has been sold 2000 books in the 6 years since it was published.  Raynor Shaw is already satisfied, “To my surprise, I once saw someone holding this book when climbing a hill, but I hope this book can lead non-hikers to walk out into the country.”

How many people know the development history of the landforms in Hong Kong? Actually, Hong Kong was a desert at one time and was a sea at another. Geologists found geological records 450 million years ago on the earth and found fossil rock formations 400 million years ago in Hong Kong. A tour of the oldest surface rock formations in Hong Kong may help understand the one-time desolation and simplicity of Hong Kong.

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