The Village at the Center of the World

WELCOME TO WANG TONG


No roads lead there, cars can’t get through, even the local police can’t find it. It’s swampy, unkempt, and popular with snakes. It was love maybe not at first sight, but by the second sight began a love affair with a humble village that lasted for decades.

  • Meet Ah-Po, the kindly old farmer and her toy animal execution ground.
  • Meet Mr. Lam, who escaped a horrifying event on the beach during the war.
  • Meet a variety of other villagers, wildlife, and even some unwelcome intruders.
  • And find out how this remote island village might once have been the capital of the Chinese Empire.

This is Larry Feign's love letter to the place he called home for over thirty years, featuring 80 linked essays and over 90 color photos.



What reviewers say...


“Larry Feign paints a kaleidoscopic portrait of his rural home in Hong Kong that dazzles the imagination. With humor and empathy, this love letter to Wang Tong village will leave any reader wishing they lived there.”

Alec Ash, Author of Wish Lanterns and The Mountains Are High

“Larry Feign is a Hong Kong treasure.”

Shonee Mirchandani, Director of Bookazine, Hong Kong

“This collection of heartwarming memoir pieces and precious photos is a love letter to Wang Tong—an obscure rural village in Lantau, Hong Kong—which Feign called home for thirty-five years. Humorous accounts of sweet, sometimes sour, nuggets of everyday rural living there, where his love of nature at times clashes with blasé bureaucracy, held this Hong Kong native totally in thrall. Ultimately, it’s Feign’s unpretentious bond with this humble village, warts and all, that tugged at my heartstrings. An exceptional read!”

Alice Poon, author of The Heavenly Sword