ENG-2009 — Page 471

Recreation, Sport and the Arts | 391

The festival covers a broad array of artistic disciplines like visual arts, opera, classical and contemporary music, dance, new circus and cinema. Under the theme of 'A Salute to Masters', the museum also presented 'The Verve of Light and Shadow', which featured the pictorial works of the Master Photographers Tchan Fou-li, Kan Hing-fook and Leo K K Wong. The 'Splendour of Cantonese Opera' which reviewed the achievements and contributions of Masters Tong Tik Sang and Yam Kim Fai to the art of Cantonese opera; and 'The Enchanting Brush', a selection of paintings and calligraphy by the Lingnan master Chao Shao-an. A generous donation from the family of the late Lydia Sum, made possible an exhibition entitled 'Our Beloved 'Happy Fruit' Lydia Sum' reviewing the television star's career and the relationship of her iconic images with the broader historical and cultural context of Hong Kong.

In August 2009, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology was commissioned to conduct a territory-wide survey of Hong Kong's intangible cultural heritage (ICH) with a view to compiling an inventory of it. In September, four applications were submitted to the Central People's Government Ministry of Culture for the inclusion in the third national list of ICH in China of the Jiao-festival of Cheung Chau, the Tai O dragon boat water parade, the Tai Hang fire dragon dance, and the Hong Kong Chiu Chow Community's Yu Lan Ghost Festival. Also in September, an application to place Cantonese opera on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity was successful, making it Hong Kong's first entry in the List. In addition to public programmes to promote ICH, a three-day international conference was held in December for experts and researchers to exchange experience in the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage of the mainland of China, Hong Kong and the East Asian region.

The museum offered a variety of public educational and extension programmes throughout the year. These included workshops, demonstrations, training programmes for young people, guided tours, talks and bilingual fun tours for children, The museum also co-ordinated a two-day 'International Museum Day 2009, Hong Kong' in May to reach out to and engage different audiences. A car parade entitled 'Museums On the Go' saw a fleet of decorated vehicles tour the territory to introduce the public to the eclectic mix of activities and services offered by the museums of Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Heritage Museum also manages three branch museums.

The first of these, the Sam Tung Uk Museum in Tsuen Wan, was originally a Hakka walled village built in 1786. It was declared a monument in 1981 and later converted into a museum.

The Railway Museum in Tai Po consists of the old Tai Po Market Railway Station. building, two historic locomotives and several coaches. The station building was constructed in 1913 in a Chinese style and was declared a monument in 1984.

The Sheung Yiu Folk Museum in Sai Kung Country Park is housed in a Hakka village, which was built in the late 19th century and comprises several domestic units, pig pens, an open courtyard and an entrance gate-tower. The village and a nearby lime kiln were gazetted as monuments in 1981.