Originally a gei wai [yue] (基圍) fish pond area, it was developed in the 1980s as the second new town in Yuen Long District and the eighth in Hong Kong.

[2] The land on which Tin Shui Wai was built did not exist at the beginning of the 1900s, while the adjacent Ping Shan was by the sea.

The water north of Ping Shan gradually turned to marshes and villagers converted them into pools and rice paddies.

The new town, conceived in 1987 to house 140,000 people, was constructed on 2.4 square kilometres (590 acres) of reclaimed fishponds and wetland representing one quarter of the flat land in the New Territories.

[5] The Housing Authority launched 6,459 Home Ownership Scheme flats in the area at steep discounts to an adjacent private estate and attracted some 90,000 applications.

[6] A new modular style of construction for the public housing estates allowed rapid development and, in a first for a new town, on 26 March 1993 Tin Shui Wai was officially opened by Governor Chris Patten.

[7] On November 25, 2007, numerous residents rallied outside government headquarters to push for more aid and reform for the area.

Following the completion of the north development zone, the government planned to build 85,000 units and apartments annually in Hong Kong after 1997.

The government has been criticised for maintaining an insufficient level of services and facilities to meet the rapid population growth.

The Tin Sau Bazaar is a marketplace in the northern part of the town managed by the charity organisation Tung Wah Group of Hospitals.

Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Public Library is in the south, directly beside the railway station.

A new, standard-sized swimming complex has been planned for many years at Tin Shui Wai Area 107, a vacant piece of land in the north of the new town.

[16] The main residences of Tin Shui Wai are the public housing estates and the 58 residential blocks of Kingswood Villas.

The entrances/exits of the station are: The district is also served by the Light Rail, with Tin Shui Wai station serving as the main interchange point for the local branch of this network, which runs in a circle around the new town, called Tin Shui Wai Circular.

The Tin Shui Wai stop of the Light Rail network belongs to Zone 4 for single-ride ticket.

A well-developed bus network is an important transport element in Tin Shui Wai, with buses running to most major destinations in Hong Kong.

[18] A 2020 Hong Kong drama We are the Littles by ViuTV starring Stephy Tang, Zeno Koo, Ian Chan and Anson Lo was set in Tin Shui Wai.