[2] The Lantau Link that passes through Ma Wan was constructed in the mid-1990s as part of the Hong Kong Government's Rose Garden plan to connect the new Hong Kong International Airport to the city centre.

Today, a large part of Ma Wan is occupied by the Park Island apartment complex.

This is angled to the North West, and has its direction controlled by the major tectonic zone it is in called the Linhua Shan Fault System that extends from the coast of Guangdong to Fujian.

In 1997, a joint excavation by the Antiquities and Monuments Office and the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences found complete Neolithic human skeletal remains in tombs at the Tung Wan Tsai North site.

20 tombs were found spanning from the late Neolithic to the early Bronze Age.

[11] The prehistoric island had late neolithic inhabitants as proved by recent excavations.

[16] After naming it Ma Wan Fishermen's Village (馬灣漁民新村), it was officially opened on the 7th of December 1965 by Arthur Patrick Richardson (李作新), the Assistant Director of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department.

The children of these families attended the kindergarten and Fong Yuen School in Ma Wan.

[19] Park Island is a private housing estate that was mainly developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties as part of the Ma Wan Development joint venture project[20] and completed from 2002 to 2006 in six phases.

Starting from 3 July 2008, urban taxis were permitted access into Ma Wan between 8 pm and 7 am the following morning to meet residents' transport needs.

[28] Starting from 14 December 2012, urban taxi were permitted access into Ma Wan 24 hours daily.

Minibuses are not allowed, but the Park Island management company operates cars in case of emergency or special situations, though their availability is not guaranteed.

There are several ferry piers on the island: Park Island Ferry Pier on the northeast, one on the old Tin Liu village on the west (formerly hosting Sham Tseng ferries), Man Wan Public Pier on the southwest at Ma Wan Main Street Village,[30][31] Tai Pai Tsui Pier on the south of the island facing Tang Lung Chau,[30][31] one on the north of the island used for the garbage removal, one on the southeast side (but on a Government land not open).