Hong Kong now sees merit of preserving heritage

Unlike in the past, our city has been paying a lot more attention in recent years to preserving and maintaining its heritage.

In her previous post as secretary of the Development Bureau, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor took an active interest in cultural conservation, and championed the preservation of many landmark historic buildings in Hong Kong, personally overseeing the Revitalising Historic Buildings through Partnership Scheme.

Today, famous buildings like the Central Police Station, the Hollywood Road police married quarters, the King Yin Lei mansion, the North Kowloon Magistracy, the Tai O Heritage Hotel, Ho Tung Gardens, the Lui Seng Chun mansion, and the Lai Chi Kok Hospital have become almost household names, and interest in conservation has never been keener.

Among those historic buildings currently open to the public is Phase One of the revitalised Lai Chi Kok Hospital, which has been renamed the Jao Tsung-I Academy in honour of the 96-year- old professor, a legendary and locally bred grandmaster of Chinese art and cultural studies.

The academy features a permanent exhibition of Professor Jao's paintings and calligraphy, including his well-known large lotus-flower paintings, and various forms of Chinese calligraphy. There is also a small heritage museum illustrating the history of the Lai Chi Kok Hospital site.

Speaking of cultural conservation, we should perhaps also pay tribute to the pioneering and sustaining efforts of the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust over the past two decades.