Amidst dramatic ranges and deep hollows
the New Territories, Hong Kong's hinterland,
stretched northwards to the border with China. Rice growing predominated in the lowlands,
with paddy-fields sweeping across the valleys. Villages and hamlets, many of them secluded
or nestled against hillsides, patterned the landscape. A railway ran through the countryside, connecting it to the urban districts and to China. However, the majority of country folk rarely
travelled beyond their immediate vicinity. Most journeyed only to markets in the nearby towns or, very occasionally, returned to their ancestral villages in China.

Exploring the New Territories Hedda Morrison spent most of her time in its central and western parts, those most easily accessed by road.
She did not photograph the towns, preferring,
it appears from what she recorded, to roam the farm lands. Modern facilities had begun to benefit the main market towns. Yet the only evidence of this that can be gleaned from her images is a
view across Tide Cove near Sha Tin, of the
railway across an embankment. Morrison's attention was primarily drawn to landscapes, traditional villages, paddy-fields, denuded
hillsides and rustic activities.

The New Territories bore some resemblance to the rugged Western Hills, some 160 kilometres