Heritage centre ready to reveal city's past
With Chinese tiled roofs, Victorian arches and verandahs, and subtly built-in modern display facilities, the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre will be ready to reveal the stories of ancient Hong Kong on Saturday.
The centre in Kowloon Park was adapted from a pair of two-storey military barracks built in 1910 as part of Whitfield Barracks. They are classified as Grade III historical buildings.
After two years under renovation, with a budget of $15 million, it is now a permanent venue for the Antiquities and Monuments Office to stage exhibitions and educational activities to promote understanding of local heritage and its preservation.
We want to bring life back to historic structures while respecting their cultural significance,' said Simon Kong Ha-wing from the Architectural Services Department.
Two century-old trees have been preserved in the courtyard at the heart of the complex, which will be converted into an outdoor cafeteria next year. A three-tonne bronze gate that served as the main gate of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Building in 1933 has been used as the entrance of the centre's thematic exhibition gallery.
Ada Yau, curator of the centre, said there were many complexities in adapting the historic military buildings to suit the purposes of modern display and education.
'For example, the pillars and architectural structures of the building have to be preserved,' Ms Yau said. 'But on the top of that we need to add ventilation, electricity and a drainage system. The wires are cleverly made invisible in order not to disrupt the ambience of culture and heritage.'
The centre will open with an exhibition of archaeological discoveries from Sha Ha, Sai Kung - a comprehensive early human settlement site.
It will feature Bronze Age tool workshops, prehistoric pottery, stone tools, and relics of the Han and Song dynasties. 'We are sure visitors will be surprised there is such an ancient side to Hong Kong,' Ms Yau said.
