ENG-1992 — Page 392

RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS

and curators. The board advises the government on which sites and structures merit protection through declaration as monuments.

Several historical buildings and structures including St Stephen's Girls' College on Hong Kong Island and the Yi Tai Study Hall in Kam Tin were declared as monuments during the

year. The latter is the first historical item formally protected under the law in this most historical settlement within the territory. The Antiquities Advisory Board also examined a number of pre-war schools, lighthouses and courts, and graded them in accordance with their historical significance, architectural merits and other factors.

Restoration of Ching Shu Hin in Ping Shan, Yuen Long, began in December, supported by generous sponsorship. Work to consolidate and restore the walls and gate towers of Kun Lung Wai in Fanling also started towards the end of the year. Several other major restoration projects which started in 1991 were all satisfactorily completed in 1992. These included the Hau Kui-shek Ancestral Hall at Ho Sheung Heung, the Yeung Hau Temple at Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long, the Tang Chung-ling Ancestral Hall in Fanling and the Kang Yung Study Hall in Sha Tau Kok.

During the summer university students were employed to survey Chinese temples on Hong Kong Island. Historical and ethnological studies of the Tung Chung valley on Lantau, which is to accommodate the new airport community, were undertaken by the Chinese University.

The year 1992 was a most active and fruitful year for rescue archaeology. With generous support from the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, a series of rescue excavations took place to extract archaeological information and material from sites affected by airport projects. The operations included excavations at Taipo on Lantau, Pak Mong and Pa Tau Kwu by the Institute of Chinese Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong; at Sha Lau Tong Wan, Ma Wan, by the Hong Kong Museum of History and at Penny's Bay by the Hong Kong Archaeological Society.

A major rescue excavation at Yung Long in Tuen Mun was conducted jointly by the Antiquities and Monuments Office and the Hong Kong Archaeological Society. This operation was made possible by a sizeable contribution from the China Light and Power Co. Ltd., which is constructing a power station at the site.

The Antiquities and Monuments Office was keen to encourage an interest in local heritage among the public, particularly the younger generation. Guided tours, talks and workshops were organised for youth groups and school students. A photographic competition on monuments was held, with a hope that through the artistic manoeuvre of cameras, the unique and elegant facets of local heritage could be captured and shared by the community at large. It met with encouraging response and close to 2 000 entries were received. Apart from information pamphlets, a popular full colour publication on heritage was produced. The office also co-operated with Wan Chai District Board to produce a booklet on the district's relics and legends. Another similar publication for Islands District Board was underway. Following the success of the conference The Future of Hong Kong's Past on development and heritage conservation in 1991, the office organised another symposium, In Search of Times Past, to discuss the principles and techniques of building conservation. Some 120 people participated in the event. The office's permanent home at the former Kowloon British School in Tsim Sha Tsui was also officially opened by Lord Wilson in May. It is now a resource centre for disseminating the message of heritage preservation.

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