An ornate building in Central with a pivotal place in Hong Kong's history will be open for one day today, giving the public a rare opportunity to admire a structure more than 100 years old.
The grade-one listed historic building at 28 Kennedy Road, which is the post-service office of former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa, was last open to the public three years ago; there are no plans for future open days.
Heritage conservation groups pressed the government to keep it open to the public.
Others question how much post-retirement work Hong Kong's former leaders will have for them to be given so much space.
Tung, who is the sole occupant, has used the 3,660 sq ft building as an office to receive dignitaries and conduct interviews since 2007.
The building is thought to have been erected in the late 1890s and used as a school. It has since had a number of tenants. A French bank turned it into a dormitory in the 1920s, it became a Russian consulate and it was also where British and Chinese officials negotiated the 1997 handover agreement.
