ENG-1990 — Page 401

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RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS

In February and March, the 1990 Hong Kong Flower Show - jointly sponsored by the Urban and Regional Councils - was held in Victoria Park. There were over 4 500 exhibitions and 60 major displays by local and overseas organisations. Despite inclement weather, the ten-day show drew more than 320 000 visitors.

Regional Council

The Regional Council maintains 615 hectares of greenery in parks, gardens, sports grounds, soccer pitches, active games areas, and children's playgrounds in the New Territories. It also manages amenity plots and soft landscape along highways and public roads. In 1990, over 191 500 trees, shrubs, palms, creepers, ground covers and seasonal flowers were planted.

Among the council's more unusual amenities are its theme gardens. At Hing Fong Road Playground in Kwai Tsing is a scented garden and Fanling Recreation Ground in North District has a garden of hibiscus. Residents of Sai Kung can rest in the silhouette of palms at the garden at Sha Tsui Playground. The Sheung Chuen Park in Yuen Long is graced with conifers while roses carpet the garden at Tuen Mun Town Park.

The council manages four nurseries in Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun, Sha Tin and Tai Po. The Tung Tze Nursery in Tai Po, which covers four hectares of land, is the biggest council nursery in the New Territories. The nurseries produce trees, shrubs and ground covers to landscape the council's facilities. They are also classrooms for botany students and guided fours are conducted by the nurseries' trained staff during Open Days. Stocks produced in the nurseries are sufficient to meet the district needs. In 1990, the nurseries turned out some 49 500 trees, 99 200 shrubs, 104 800 ground covers, 4 800 creepers and 229 800 seasonal flowers.

The council also conducts horticultural classes, both to educate and to promote public interest in keeping Hong Kong green. A total of 18 horticultural classes were organised during the year.

Country Parks

Despite Hong Kong's largely urban environment, opportunities for outdoor recreation are not lacking in the territory. No place is far from green countryside and there are 21 country parks covering over 40 per cent of the total land area. Over nine million visits were made to these parks during 1990. They are most popular during the cool, dry months of October to April.

The Director of Agriculture and Fisheries is the Country Parks Authority. Upon the advice of the Country Parks Board and the work of its various committees, he is responsible for the management of lands and provision of the facilities within country parks. These facilities include picnic and barbecue areas, walking trails, rain shelters, toilets, information posts and visitor centres.

Heritage

Growing awareness of the importance to the community of Hong Kong's cultural and historical heritage is reflected in the activities of the museums run by the Urban and Regional Councils, and the work of the Antiquities Advisory Board as well as the Antiquities and Monuments Office. The Hong Kong Museum of History, operated by the Urban Council, has a number of branch sites, including the newly-opened Law Uk Folk