ENG-1997 — Page 443

RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS

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monuments and relics excavated from archaeological sites. The second exhibition Hong Kong's Heritage A History of 6 000 Years introduced the very rich relics of Hong Kong from different historical periods with an emphasis on archaeological finds and historical buildings. To complement the international conference, an exhibition entitled 'Heritage Education in Hong Kong' was also presented at the Heritage Resource Centre.

With the sponsorship of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, the Central and Western Heritage Trail, the first of its kind in an urban area was established in phases to present the early development of Hong Kong. The first phase, covering the Central District, was launched in October as a major Year of Heritage event. The other phases will cover Sheung Wan, Western District and the Peak.

The AMO organised seminars and workshops on local heritage and school curricula of History, Travel and Tourism and General Studies for teachers of primary and secondary schools. It also encouraged young people to participate in archaeological workshops, field studies, lectures, environment improvement exercises at historic sites and processing of archaeological finds. The AMO helped the Sha Tin District Board in publishing a booklet introducing the history, monuments and traditions of the Sha Tin district.

To promote the community's commitment in heritage conservation work, the AMO set up a Friends of Heritage scheme to organise heritage lovers who were prepared to undertake voluntary work for the office.

Lord Wilson Heritage Trust

The Lord Wilson Heritage Trust was established in December 1992 to give the community an opportunity to express its appreciation of Lord Wilson's contribution to Hong Kong during his term as governor. It aims to promote and help fund the preservation and conservation of Hong Kong's cultural heritage.

During the year, the trust sponsored a majority of the Year of Heritage projects jointly organised with the Antiquities Advisory Board and the AMO. A total of $2.8 million was successfully raised in one of the commemorative events, Gala Evening, in July to provide funding support to the Year of Heritage projects and other heritage- related activities.

Provisional Urban Council Public Libraries

The library system continues to expand. The small library in Yiu Tung Estate and the district library in San Po Kong were opened in February and April respectively. The council now operates 38 libraries in the urban areas. Works for the new Tsz Wan Shan library and the new Lok Fu library were also well under way.

Construction of the Hong Kong Central Library proceeded during the year. When opened in 2000, it will be the largest purpose-built public library in Hong Kong, capable of holding two million items. It will be the main library and administrative headquarters of the whole library system. New facilities will include a toy library, a young adults reference library, a central reference library, more than 400 public access terminals and microcomputers for information and database searches through the Internet.

Review of the library service through the Five-Year Plan was completed and feedback from the public was incorporated. The Five-Year Plan covers

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