A new cultural home

Officiating at the launch ceremony for the Asia Society's new Hong Kong centre at the former British Army explosives magazine in Admiralty are (from left) Antiques and Monuments Board chairman Edward Ho Sing-tin, Jockey Club chairman Ronald Arculli, Chief Secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan and Asia Society chairman Ronnie Chan Chi-chung.

The oldest building on the 7,800 square metre site, on a wooded hillside near Justice Drive, dates from 1853. With the Jockey Club's help, the American organisation will spend $200 million converting the grade-one-listed former bastion of Britain's presence into a cultural and performing arts centre.

'Hong Kong, as a world city, really needs a place like this,' Mr Chan said.