Liu Ka-shiang is undeniably an important contemporary nature writer in Taiwan. Since the 1980s, he has published over 50 novels, articles and picture books depicting Taiwan's nature, earning him the title of "The Birdman". From 2006 to 2018, he often travelled to Hong Kong on invitations to be a writer-in-residence by several universities. Taking the opportunity to hike during his free time, he fell in love with the wilderness of Hong Kong. While setting up trekking tours for his fellow Taiwanese, he realised that many have a vague understanding of Hong Kong. Some people, he found, ‘…even form prejudice against Hong Kong’s nature based on their limited, frivolous and confused perspectives on the city.’

It was then that he began writing about the landscapes of Hong Kong on Ming Pao Daily, introducing less-reported features such as old village roads, paths and wetland environments in Hong Kong. After four or five hours trekking in the morning, he would spend the remaining hours of the day at home writing, drawing and mapping, and used his words to illustrate the city’s landscape, flora and fauna, as well as the life and history of the villages.

Collating seven years’ worth of trekking experiences in Hong Kong, he wrote and published Three Fourths of Hong Kong: Across the Mountains, through the Village, Spotting Fung Shui Woods in 2014. In addition to the accolades of the Yazhou Zhoukan Top Ten Good Book and China Times Open Book Award, the book has sold nearly 30,000 copies in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Shenzhen, drawing unprecedented attention to Hong Kong’s captivating nature. In the preface, Hong Kong writer Ma Ka Fai wrote, “Even nature enthusiasts from Hong Kong would agree: ‘If it wasn’t for Liu Ka-shiang, we wouldn’t know these things about Hong Kong.’"