There is little written history regarding Cheung Chau before the 18th century. But even early last century, some islanders said their families had settled on Cheung Chau hundreds of years ago, and we can guess something regarding the very early history based on some archaeological finds and the history of south China.
Fragments of pottery, shells and a bone arrowhead found at Po Yue Wan (Italian Beach) show there were humans on Cheung Chau during the Late Neolihic - and (though dates are considered unreliable) perhaps as long as six thousand years ago. Indeed, as human relics have been found from 5000BC (and - at one site near Sai Kung - even from 35,000-39,000 years old), it's likely that people have been in the Cheung Chau area for 7000 years or more.
