ENG-1998 — Page 440

RECREATION, SPORTS AND THE ARTS

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attracted 414 660 visitors in 1998. A thematic exhibition on the posters of Hong Kong in the 1920s and 1930s was staged at the museum during the year.

Hong Kong Railway Museum

This open-air museum is in the town centre of Tai Po Market. It consists of the old Tai Po Market railway station building, a narrow-gauge steam locomotive and six historic passenger coaches. The station building, in Chinese style, was built in 1913 and declared a monument in 1984. The museum attracted 428 580 visitors during the

year.

Sheung Yiu Folk Museum

This museum is housed in a fortified Hakka village built in the late 19th century at a scenic spot near Pak Tam Chung in Sai Kung Country Park. It comprises eight domestic units, pig pens, an open courtyard and an entrance gate tower. The village and a nearby lime kiln were declared a monument in 1981. Despite its remoteness, the museum attracted 72 970 visitors in 1998.

Tak Wah Gallery

The gallery, in Tak Wah Park at Tsuen Wan, was converted from a traditional village dwelling dating from the 1930s. It provides a venue for mounting thematic exhibitions on various topics of local history. An exhibition on village education is now on display. It attracted 100 980 visitors in the year.

Hong Kong Heritage Museum

A monumental task in preserving Hong Kong's past and culture, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in Sha Tin, is under way. Becoming the largest institution of its kind, the museum will play an important role in helping the community understand more about our heritage, local arts and culture. With a gross floor area of 28 500 square metres and a net exhibition area of 7 500 square metres, the museum will open to the public in 2000.

Heritage

The Antiquities Advisory Board and its executive arm, the Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) continue to promote public awareness of the importance of Hong Kong's cultural heritage through exhibitions, guided tours, publications, local studies and community involvement projects.

The Secretary for Home Affairs is the authority implementing the provisions of the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance as well as the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust through the AMO. In so doing, the Secretary for Home Affairs draws on the advice of the Antiquities Advisory Board.

Antiquities Advisory Board and Antiquities and Monuments Office

The Antiquities Advisory Board has 17 appointed members. They include anthropologists, archaeologists, architects, curators, historians and planners. It advises the government on sites and structures which merit protection through declaration as monuments. A historical temple, Cheung Shan Kwu Tsz in Fanling, was declared a monument in 1998.