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RECREATION AND THE ARTS
Planning work gathered momentum for the new Hong Kong Museum of Art which forms part of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre at Tsim Sha Tsui. The new museum will have 12 500 square metres of space for the galleries, educational facilities and supporting services. Piling started in November and the project is scheduled for completion in 1991.
Sheung Yiu Folk Museum
The Sheung Yiu Folk Museum at the nature trail of Pak Tam Chung, Sai Kung, was in its third year of operation. The museum shows a 19th-century Hakka walled village of domestic units, a gate tower, kitchens, pig pens with display of period furnishings and farming implements. It attracted 86 307 visitors throughout the year.
Hong Kong Railway Museum
Housed at the old Tai Po Market Railway Station and opened in December 1985, the museum deals specially with the history, development and services of the Kowloon-Canton Railway. It displays the old Tai Po Market Railway Station built in 1913 which is now a declared monument. The station's booking office, waiting hall and signal cabin have been restored for public viewing. Other exhibits include a full-sized mock-up of an electrified train carriage, five old historic rail coaches, two inspection trolleys and other railway artefacts. During the year, the museum attracted 410 604 visitors.
Sam Tung Uk Museum
Construction of the Sam Tung Uk Museum began in February, and the museum is expected to be ready and opened to the public in mid-1987. Located in Tsuen Wan, the museum is being converted from an 18th-century Hakka walled village of a Chan clan. The 2000 square metre museum will include the restored ancestral hall, 12 village houses, a reception hall, an orientation hall, an exhibition hall, a lecture room, and museum offices all converted from village houses. Its adjoining 8 000 square metre open space, incorporating a pond, a gateway, a sales kiosk with landscaped sitting out areas, will reflect the rural character of the museum.
Zoological and Botanical Gardens
The Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, managed by the Urban Council, are the oldest and possibly the most popular public gardens in Hong Kong. Situated on a 5.35 hectare site at the foot of Victoria Peak overlooking Government House, the gardens contain a wide variety of botanical and zoological features. The gardens were constructed between 1861 and 1871 and were divided by Albany Road. The Old Garden, located to the east of the road, houses an extensive bird collection while the New Garden, opened in 1871, is home for the mammals. The horticultural contribution, which is mainly located in the Old Garden, is enhanced by extensive planting inside the zoological enclosures.
The mammal collection includes Jaguars, Clouded Leopards, Red-cheeked Black Gib- bons, Emperor Tamarins, Green Acouchis, Common Marmosets, Prevost's Tree Squirrels, Indian Porcupines, Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroos, Celebes Black Apes, Common Squirrel Monkeys, Agoutis, Short-beaked Echidnas, Ring-tailed Lemurs, Siamangs, Orang-utans and Golden-headed Lion Tamarins. Among them, 13 species of mammals, including the Orang-utans and Lion Tamarins, have bred in the gardens.
The bird collection, which is among the best in Asia, concentrates on rare or endangered species. Altogether, more than 850 specimens representing about 265 species are housed. With the sale or transfer of zoological stock between countries growing increasingly