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Antiquity board delegation visit to Beijing
A delegation of the Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) had visited Beijing from September 3 to 7 to establish a closer relationship with related heritage preservation bodies in China and Hong Kong to facilitate future co-operation.
More importantly, the purpose of the trip is to bring to the institutes and authorities in China the fact that Hong Kong has a history of more than six thousand years instead of some 150 years as witnessed by the excavations carried out in the past few years.
The visit was considered very fruitful. It provided an opportunity for AAB and the professionals in mainland to exchange views on heritage preservation and archaeological studies.
The delegation was assured that heritage preservation works in Hong Kong will be carried out continuously by the future Special Administration government based on the Basic Law; that no other regional interference will be made to such works; and that support will be given to the future Hong Kong government when encountering difficulties in pursuing the works.
Special mention was also made to the importance of the works in educating people to understand the past of Hong Kong and its relation with China both historically and culturally.
The visit had succeeded in forging a closer relationship with the academic institutions in China dealing with archaeological studies and preservation of historical buildings.
They were given to understand the difficulties confronted with the heritage preservation work in Hong Kong, which included the high land value, the extraordinary pace of development, the lack of professionals in the field and the hot and humid climate.
With the launching of the two territory-wide surveys one on historical buildings and structures and the other on archaeological sites - it was hoped that the professionals in China could give professional advice and guidance during the conduct of the surveys.
The professionals from the Tsinghua University also gave the delegation a briefing on traditional Chinese architecture and their preservation, and the heritage preservation policy in China.