ENG-1993 — Page 414

RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS

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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 Secretary for Recreation and Culture is the antiquities authority and implements the provisions of the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance. Through exhibitions, guided tours, publications, local studies and community involvement projects, the museums and Antiquities and Monuments Office seek to achieve their twin objectives of preserving Hong Kong's heritage and increasing public awareness of its importance.

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Heritage preservation was given a further boost with the establishment of the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust at the beginning of the year. With the help of the trust and the Antiquities Advisory Board, the first heritage trail in Hong Kong was opened at Ping Shan in Yuen Long, providing the public with easy access to restored historical buildings and monuments along the trail. In addition, funding support was given to community organisations and schools for a variety of heritage-related activities. Other projects being planned by the trust included the production of a learning package on local history for use by students in junior secondary forms and other publicity programmes targeted at arousing the younger generation's awareness and interest in heritage preservation.

Hong Kong Museum of History

The year saw a diversified and lively programme of exhibitions and educational activities at the Hong Kong Museum of History. These started with a very popular exhibition, Dress in Hong Kong - A Century of Change and Customs, which displayed the museum's valuable collection of costumes. The exhibition closed in April after attracting 66 900 visitors. An exhibition entitled Education in Hong Kong: Past and Present was mounted from June to September with the aim of illustrating the development of local education since the early days of Hong Kong.

A large-scale archaeological exhibition on the discoveries of the ancient Yue tribe in South China came next, jointly presented with the Anthropology Museum of Zhongshan University in Guangzhou and the Shenzhen Museum. On display were over 200 items of unearthed artifacts from Fengkai, Xiqiaoshan, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, reflecting the lifestyle of the ancient Yue people from the prehistoric period to the Han dynasty. The exhibition was attended by 17 259 visitors in the first month of its opening. A two-day seminar was held to complement the exhibition.

The permanent exhibition, The Story of Hong Kong, which illustrates the development of Hong Kong from a small fishing village to a metropolis, remained open throughout the year and attracted 172 986 people.

The museum's educational activities drew a high attendance. Weekend programmes included lectures, demonstrations and video shows. The traditional handicraft courses and field visits to historic sites in the New Territories were all over-subscribed, as were the student workshops on Experiencing Archaeology and Rubbing Chinese Folk Woodblock Prints. The seminar on the history of Hong Kong, jointly organised with the Education Department for history teachers, was fully attended. Other extension services, such as travelling exhibitions and the loan of slide packs and videos, were much in demand.