As one of the 9 districts located in the New Territories, it covers the areas of Sha Tin, Tai Wai, Ma On Shan, Fo Tan, Siu Lek Yuen, Kwun Yam Shan and Ma Liu Shui.

As the Shing Mun River runs across the district, most local residents were farmers and relied on agriculture for living.

The Olympics were hosted by Beijing, but there was concern over proper quarantine and disease monitoring in the Chinese capital.

The Shing Mun River is a 7 km long, 200m wide channel originating at the Shing Mun Reservoir (Tai Mo Shan catchment) that runs as a river from the Tai Wai area, through the Sha Tin town centre to Tide Cove.

Along the Shing Mun River are high-rise residential, commercial and industrial buildings with numerous village type developments scattered around.

Five of these stations lie on the East Rail line, namely Tai Wai, Sha Tin, Fo Tan, Racecourse and University.

The first section, known as Tuen Ma line Phase 1, opened in January 2020, extending the Ma On Shan line to Kai Tak via Diamond Hill, and includes a further station serving Hin Keng at the southern end of Sha Tin District.

This is expected to relieve congestion on the East Rail line between Tai Wai and Kowloon Tong.

Finally, in 2022, the East Rail line would be extended across Victoria Harbour and terminate at Admiralty station, providing a direct service to Hong Kong Island for the first time.

A total of 110 franchised bus routes serve various points in Sha Tin District.

Despite the opening of further tunnels over the years, it remains the most direct route to central Kowloon, and thus the most heavily travelled.

Schools with Wikipedia articles: There are four hospitals in Sha Tin District: Local and tourist attractions in the Sha Tin area include, most famously, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, which is Hong Kong's largest museum.