RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS
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Membership of the Youth Hostels Association provides access to over 5000 youth hostels around the world and many members are thus able to travel widely, economically and safely.
Urban Council Parks
The Urban Council has an extensive building programme for large modern parks. The first of these - Kowloon Park – was opened by the Governor on February 1, 1989. It features many special attractions including a swimming complex with an ultra-modern Olympic pool and several fun pools. There is an air-conditioned indoor games hall, a history museum, and an aviary.
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The council is now constructing a second major park on Hong Kong Island. To be called Hong Kong Park, the project is expected to be ready in mid-1991. It is a joint venture between the Urban Council and the Jockey Club, which has donated $170 million of the total cost of $390 million. Among the park's more unusual attractions will be a walk-in aviary, a multi-climate greenhouse and some spectacular water features. The existing Tea Ware Museum and Squash Centre will also be part of the park.
Meanwhile, planning is well advanced on the third major park on the site of the old Lei Yue Mun Barracks. This is probably the most ambitious project in the park building programme and the project is expected to be completed by 1995. The site is vast and particularly scenic. Part of it is already in operation as a holiday village, the first in the - urban area.
In Kowloon, the 5.5-hectare Tung Chau Street Park in Sham Shui Po was opened to the public. Facilities include a mini soccer pitch, volleyball and basketball courts, ornamental lakes, pavilions and gardens and a children's play area. Another major park, Hoi Bun Road Park in Kwun Tong, was also completed. This comprises a mini soccer pitch, table tennis and Chinese pavilions and landscaped sitting out areas. Adjacent to the Hong Kong Science Museum in Tsim Sha Tsui, a landscaped garden and sitting-out area has been created with a preserved railway coach of the Kowloon Canton Railway as a central feature.
In all, 15 parks and playgrounds projects were completed in the urban area in 1990.
Zoological and Botanical Gardens '|
Managed by the Urban Council, the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens are the oldest and amongst the most popular public gardens in the territory. Situated on a 5.35-hectare site at the foot of Victoria Peak overlooking Government House, the gardens contain a wide variety of plants and animals, and are notable for their pleasant environ- ment and excellent use of space.
The gardens were constructed between 1861 and 1871 and are divided by Albany Road. The Old Garden, on the east side of the road, houses an extensive bird collection while the New Garden, opened in 1871, is the home for the mammals. The botanical section is mainly located in the Old Garden.
The Urban Council puts considerable emphasis on the breeding and conservation of endangered species. The gardens house 19 endangered species of animals and birds and, despite the urban environment, are a most successful breeding centre. This fact has been recognised by increased breeding loans arranged through the International Breeding Pro- gramme for Endangered Species.