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The historic Central School site in Hollywood Road was opened yesterday for public visits as the government kicked off a three-month public consultation to decide its future.
More than 600  people, including representatives of more than 20 non-governmental organisations, enrolled for the  first tour, which will close at 6pm today.
Redevelopment of the married police quarters was put on hold after archaeologists uncovered remnants of the school, where many of Hong Kong's best-known figures were educated.
Sun Yat-sen, regarded as the father of modern China, attended the school at its earlier site in Gough Street before it moved to Hollywood Road in 1889.
Archaeological investigation unearthed more than one-third of the former Central School's foundations, along with broken pieces of porcelain utensils and ceramic tiles, made both locally and overseas.
Part of the foundations had been disturbed by the construction of the police quarters on top of them in 1948.
Sun Tak-wing, archaeological curator  in the Antiquities and Monuments Office, said these relics all dated back more than 100 years.
'The ceramic tiles unearthed were made by a very famous tile manufacturer in the UK ... and the same tiles were used in the University of Hong Kong, St Paul Cathedral, and architectural structures overseas, including the White House,' he said.
However, maintenance and management costs of the site could be high, Mr Sun said, if the foundations were to be publicly displayed.
Other remaining parts of Central School include retaining walls,  granite pillars, plinths and steps.
According to the Development Bureau's guidelines, any revitalisation plan would have to preserve these features.
Three options are listed for consultation on the two police-quarters blocks: retain both, demolish both, or demolish just the lower one.
Central and Western District councillor Yuen Bun-keung  said the Central School remnants should be kept. 'The site is important to the development of Chinese history.
'The quarters next to it should be redeveloped into an open recreation area, which is lacking in our district, to suit public needs.'
Wong Kam-sing,  committee member of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, said the foundations that remained were of high value because they perfectly matched the floor plan of the Central School. 'If the site is to be preserved, it will form a perfect historical trail with the surrounding historical spots, like the Sun Yat-sen memorial museum,' Mr Wong said.
A woman who identified herself only as Mrs Lui, whose daughter lives nearby, said the government should demolish the site and sell the land for development. 'What's the use of keeping something that is broken and old? It will be such a waste if the land just sits here.'
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen   decided to take the plot of land, estimated to be worth more than HK$3 billion, off the land application list temporarily at the end of last year, in consideration of its historical value.



Central School site opened for tours