RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS
Antiquities Advisory Board
The Antiquities Advisory Board advises the government on sites and structures which merit protection through declaration as monuments. It has 15 appointed members. They include anthropologists, archaeologists, architects, curators, historians and planners.
In 1994, the entrance gate of Ma Wat Wai at Lung Yeuk Tau, Fanling, and the Marine Police Headquarters compound at Tsim Sha Tsui were declared monuments. Ma Wat Wai, which was built more than 250 years ago by the Tang clan, is one of the five major wais (or walled villages) in Lung Yeuk Tau. Built in 1884, the Marine Police Headquarters compound, which comprises the main building, a stable block and a signal tower, is now ranked the fourth oldest surviving historic government building in Hong Kong. Also in 1994, the entrance façade of the Shut Hing Study Hall at Tong Fong Tsuen, Ping Shan; Loi Shing Tong and the front block of Cheung Chun Yuen in Kam Tim were deemed
monuments.
The Shut Hing Study Hall was built by a branch of the Tang family in 1874. The entrance façade is decorated with elaborately carved woodwork and fine stone masonry of excellent craftsmanship. Loi Shing Tong is an imposing ancestral hall built in 1701. It is decorated with fine terracotta decorations and wood carvings. Cheung Chun Yuen was built in the 1870s as a school for martial arts. Its front block, named Lau Kun Tong, is now used as an ancestral hall for worshipping family soul tablets.
The Antiquities Advisory Board also examined buildings and structures at all the pre-war reservoirs, historical buildings in army barracks and compounds, and all pre-war temples in Yuen Long, and graded them according to their historical and architectural merit.
The full restoration of the Yi Tai Study Hall in Kam Tin and the Kun Lung Wai in Fanling was completed. Other repair projects commenced during the year included Ma Wat Wai, Liu Man Shek Tong Ancestral Hall and the entrance façade of the Shut Hing Study Hall.
Two research projects by the History and Anthropology Departments of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, to compile detailed historical and anthropological records of 18 villages in Tung Chung, Lantau, were completed. The villages are expected to be affected by the development of the new town in Tung Chung. These projects, made possible by a donation from the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, have provided for posterity a record of the fast-vanishing rural traditions in the area.
University students were employed during the summer to conduct a detailed survey of Chinese temples in the New Territories. The survey will facilitate further research into the history of past religious activities, and the special architectural features of the temples.
The Antiquities and Monuments Office is the executive arm of the Antiquities Authority and services the Antiquities Advisory Board. It continued to take measures to ensure that the archaeological heritage of Hong Kong survived in good condition. In 1994, several archaeological surveys were conducted in areas threatened by development, including the Tsing Chau Tsai peninsula on Lantau, a site for a new refuse transfer station on Hei Ling Chau and the Kowloon Walled City site in the urban area.
The investigations at the Kowloon Walled City site were particularly rewarding. Remnants of the former city wall were discovered and the two stone plaques from the original South Gate which bore the Chinese characters 'South Gate' and 'Kowloon Garrison City', respectively, were unearthed.
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