I have recently been chatting by email with Terry Roberts who is restoring a  Hong Kong Junk called "Sunfung" on the Nene River in Peterborough.

He provided me with some of her history which may be of interest  as follows:

She is about 30', ketch, with both masts in tabernacles.

The original Owner lived in Hong Kong and worked for Shell. She was built in 1956 at a boat yard apparently known as Fan Lam Quay in Stanley, Hong Kong

Her first owner was Jerrard Daraux who had her shipped to the UK on the deck of a Shell oil Tanker. After a few years cruising the UK , she allegedly cruised the Greek Islands, when on her return to the UK she was hoisted by crane into the rear garden of Jerrad's home somewhere in the Midlands (UK)

After the death of Jerrard about 22 years ago ,  she was sold by advertisment in  Exchange and Mart Magazine to Mr G. Smith of Milton Keynes who stored her in a Peterborough Boat Yard. She laid deteriorating for around 10 years, and eventually  - 11 years ago Terry Roberts bought her from the Yard - settling the accumulated debts, and he has since been renovating her hull.

9 Photos Sun Fung  her sails are available in Photogallery, starting numbers 10/388.

"Sunfung" and "Hong Kong" are engraved on her transom

Has she featured in News Letters of the JRA - I have had a quick look without success?

Ash

I've heard that there was a secondary reason for the watertight bulkheads, which of course made for completely separated compartments: new junks were built by a group of individuals, who each paid for a hold (or a number of holds, I assume).  This would allow them easily to transport and identify disparate cargoes; it would also make it easy for the junkmaster to identify what to unload where. 

It would appear that the Chinese were the first to use the concept of containers, too!

An interesting UNESCO resource of slides and video illustrating the traditional methods (particularly watertight compartments) used in the building of the Princess Taiping in Fujian in 2002-8.