XN000022-1984-12-16 — Page 8

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1984

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VILLAGE TO BECOME LARGEST FOLK MUSEUM

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AN 18TH CENTURY WALLED VILLAGE IN TSUEN WAN WILL BECOME HONG KONG'S LARGEST FOLK MUSEUM AND A SHOWPLACE OF LIFE IN THE TERRITORY TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO.

COVERING ABOUT 2 000 SQUARE METRES, SAM TUNG UK, AS THE VILLAGE IS CALLED, WAS CONSTRUCTED BY A CHAN FAMILY IN THE QING DYNASTY,

A $10-MILLION RENOVATION PROJECT NOW IN PROGRESS WILL BE COMPLETED IN 1987.

+THE VILLAGE PROVIDES A GOOD EXAMPLE OF TRADITIONAL HAKKA BUILDINGS WITH HORIZONTAL ROWS OF HOUSES LINKED TOGETHER BY AN ANCESTRAL HALL, SAID MR GERARD TSANG, A CURATOR OF THE CULTURAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT IN CHARGE OF MUSEUM ACTIVITIES IN THE NEW TERRITORIES.

+SAM TUNG UK+ IN FACT MEANS +THREE ROWS OF HOUSES+.

QING DYNASTY HAKKA HOUSES BUILT ON HILLS OR IN REMOTE REGIONS ARE THE ONLY ONES EXTANT IN HONG KONG. THE OTHERS HAVE BEEN DEMOLISHED TO MAKE WAY FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT.

+THESE HOUSES ALSO ENABLE US TO GAIN AN INSIGHT INTO HONG KONG'S LIFE STYLE IN THE DISTANT YEARS,+ MR TSANG SAID.

FOR INSTANCE, THE LACK OF WINDOWS ON OUTER WALLS AND THE NARROW CORRIDORS INSIDE THE VILLAGE ARE EVIDENCE THAT IT WAS BUILT AT A TIME WHEN BANDITS WERE RAMPANT.

THIS IS ONLY ONE OF THE MANY INTERESTING POINTS THE VISITORS WILL LEARN WHEN THIS VILLAGE-MUSEUM IS READY BY 1987.

ALL THE HISTORICALLY HOMOGENOUS PARTS OF THE VILLAGE WILL BE PRESERVED, MISSING FRAGMENTS REPLACED AND LATER ADDITIONS REMOVED TO RETAIN ITS ORIGINAL FLAVOUR.

LIGHTING AND MECHANICAL SYSTEMS WILL BE CONCEALED TO ENHANCE THE HISTORICAL CHARACTER OF THE COMPLEX.

THE EXISTING ANCESTRAL HALL AT THE HEART OF THE VILLAGE WILL BE KEPT. FOUR OF THE HOUSES SURROUNDING IT WILL BE DECORATED AND STOCKED WITH DIFFERENT COLLECTIONS OF FARMING IMPLEMENTS TO REFLECT THE VARYING LIFE STYLES OF THE VILLAGE IN THE FOUR SEASONS.

AT THE BACK, A MULTI-PURPOSE EXHIBITION HALL WITH MODERN EQUIPMENT WILL BE CONSTRUCTED. ITS EXTERIOR DESIGN WILL BE IN HARMONY WITH THE EXISTING VILLAGE.

/+THE HALL *****