170
RECREATION
been carried out at the Bride's Pool area which is additional to the above plan. Public appreciation of the new facilities has been demonstrated by large increases in the num- bers of visitors to those areas. The Director of Agriculture and Fisheries is responsible for management of these country parks and recreational areas.
Swimming is by far the most popular form of recreation in Hong Kong, and a long, hot summer in 1974 sent attendances at beaches and swimming pools shooting above 15 million by the end of the summer. Swimming lessons continued and the annual water safety campaign was held to drive home the 'swim-in-safety' message.
The Urban Council controls beaches and pools in the urban areas and the Urban Services Department those in the New Territories. These comprise: Hong Kong Island 12 beaches and three swimming pool complexes; Kowloon-four swimming pool complexes; New Territories-25 beaches and one swimming pool complex.
Good progress was made in 1974 on expanding swimming facilities, with a new pool complex opened on Hong Kong Island (Kennedy Town) and another nearing completion in the New Territories (Tsuen Wan).
More pool complexes are planned for Aberdeen and Chai Wan on Hong Kong Island; Tai Wan, Hammer Hill and Kowloon Park in Kowloon, and Yuen Long, Kwai Chung, Sha Tin and Tuen Mun in the New Territories. Other recreational facilities range from stadia and sports grounds to parks, playgrounds, sitting-out areas and amenity plots.
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Eighty recreation and amenities projects are in the capital works programme including nine swimming pools; a football stadium of international standard at Ho Man Tin; two indoor stadia at Hung Hom and Morrison Hill for sports such as table tennis, basketball and badminton; a sports training centre and velodrome at Causeway Bay; and several large parks. Projects completed included an attractive rest garden on Signal Hill in Tsim Sha Tsui and a 3.7-acre playground at Pok Fu Lam Road.
The Urban Council and Urban Services Department launched a determined drive to make Hong Kong greener as well as cleaner, and during the year 179,500 trees, shrubs and flowers were planted. They included 13,000 semi-mature trees im- ported at a cost of $3 million, specially provided by the council from its own funds, and 400 semi-mature trees in the New Territories, for which the government paid $80,000. These trees were spread among parks, playgrounds, along roadsides and in other public places. The Urban Council and Urban Services Department now manage a total of 1,555.89 acres of public open space, 992.45 in the urban areas and the rest in the New Territories.
The annual Urban Council flower show, held each spring, continued to be a popular event in 1974 drawing 111,675 flower-lovers to the City Hall.
The Urban Council spent more than $1 million to provide a wide range of free entertainment for everyone, and in the New Territories the Urban Services Depart- ment expanded its own free entertainment programme to keep in step. The programme