ENG-1997 — Page 439

RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS

orientation programme for students of the Hong Kong Institutes of Education, all of which attracted a very high attendance. The museum's loan services such as travelling exhibitions, videos and slide packs were frequently used by schools and non-profit making organisations. The museum continued to organise jointly with the Education Department the sixth Inter-school Competition of Study Projects on Transportation in Hong Kong.

The Lei Cheng Uk Branch Museum, with its thematic display, Han Costume, received 57 000 visitors during the year. The Law Uk Folk Museum attracted 38 000 visitors with its permanent display of rural furniture and farming implements, as well as the thematic exhibition, Paper Horse.

Construction of the permanent Museum of History at Chatham Road South and the Lei Yue Mun Museum in Chai Wan progressed well. The two museums are expected to open for public viewing in 1999.

Five-Year Plan on Museum Services

The year also saw the formulation of a Five-Year Plan on the Provisional Urban Council's museum services, which shows the council's commitment to further improving its services to the public. The plans cover acquisition, exhibition, education, promotion and cultural exchange policies. A public consultation exercise on the Five-Year Plan was conducted in September-October to obtain feedback from the public.

Hong Kong Film Archive

The council decided in December 1992 to set up the Hong Kong Film Archive at an estimated cost of $198 million. The archive building, at Sai Wan Ho, is scheduled to be completed in late 1999. Hong Kong is the third-largest film production centre in the world, and the archive will preserve Hong Kong's rich film heritage.

The archive will not only acquire, preserve, catalogue, and document Hong Kong films and related material, but will also encourage public access to its collection through film programmes, seminars and exhibitions. The archive planning office has already acquired more than 2 000 films and 35 000 items of related materials, mainly through donations and deposits. It co-organises two film retrospectives with the community arts centres each year to arouse public interest in local cinema.

An exhibition, 50 Years of the Hong Kong Film Production and Distribution Industries (1947–1997), was held at the City Hall Exhibition Hall during the Hong Kong International Film Festival in March and April. It attracted 28 000 visitors. A 700-page filmography on Hong Kong films made in the pre-war years was published, covering 621 film titles made between 1913 and 1941.

Provisional Regional Council Museums

Sam Tung Uk Museum

This museum in Tsuen Wan was originally a Hakka walled village built in 1786. The layout of the village resembles a chequerboard with an entrance hall, an assembly hall and an ancestral hall along the central axis. The village, a declared monument, was furnished with traditional Hakka furniture and farming implements. Two thematic exhibitions respectively on the pottery industry at Wun Yiu, Tai Po and the posters

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