RECREATION AND THE ARTS
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The museum has been actively involved in planning the construction of a new Hong Kong Museum of Art which will form Phase III of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre at Tsim Sha Tsui. This is scheduled for completion in 1990.
Museum Conservation Service
A centralised conservation service was established by the Urban Council in mid-1985 for the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Hong Kong Museum of History, to restore the collections, and preserve and protect them from damage and deterioration. In 1988, more than 1 100 museum objects were conserved and restored. They included paintings, prints, ceramics, cannons, potteries, bronzes, furniture, embroidery, archives, coins and other archaeological finds.
To preserve the natural health of organic objects, a Fumigation Chamber was put into operation in 1987. The chamber, one of the most advanced of its type, was specially constructed to destroy insects, larvae, insect eggs, mould and fungus from a variety of museum objects. In 1988, more than 5 000 objects were fumigated. These objects included wooden furniture, books, bamboo objects, textile, costumes, baskets and wood carvings.
Another important function of the conservation service is to monitor the climatological conditions in all exhibition galleries and museum stores and to ensure that the items in all exhibitions organised by the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Hong Kong Museum of History are in proper display condition.
Sheung Yiu Folk Museum
The Sheung Yiu Folk Museum at the nature trail of Pak Tam Chung, Sai Kung, is in its fifth year of operation. The museum, which is also a declared monument, shows a 19th-century Hakka walled village of domestic units, a gate tower, kitchens, and pig pens with display of period furnishings and farming implements. It attracted 83 250 visitors.
Hong Kong Railway Museum
Housed at the old Tai Po Market Railway Station and opened in December 1985, the Hong Kong Railway Museum is dedicated to 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 an electrified train carriage, six old historic rail coaches, two inspection trolleys and other rail artefacts. The museum attracted over 336 600 visitors.
Sam Tung Uk Museum
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The Sam Tung Uk Museum, converted from an 18th-century Hakka walled village of a Chan clan, was opened to the public on November 1987. The 2 000-square-metre museum in Tsuen Wan is also a declared monument, and includes 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 refreshments kiosk with landscaped sitting out areas, reflects the rural character of the museum. Period furniture, farming implements, and illustrated thematic displays are featured in the village houses.
Two popular exhibitions on Cantonese Opera Costumes and Puppet Theatre in Hong Kong were staged in the exhibition hall. The museum attracted over 610 000 visitors.