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A "psychological barrier" will be set up to protect Hong Kong's oldest-known dated rock inscription in Sai Kung.
Monuments officials have opted to replace the present perspex screen with a "visitor-friendly landscape barrier" instead of totally enclosing the inscription to prevent vandalism.
The carving at Joss House Bay, dated July 20, 1274, serves as rare first-hand evidence of official salt production activity in what is now Hong Kong, dating back to the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279AD).
Watch: Oldest dated inscription from the Song dynasty sheds light on Hong Kong's history

With 740 years of history, it is the oldest-known dated rock inscription in the city.
A perspex screen that has been placed in front of the rock will be removed in the dry seasons of autumn and winter this year as work begins on the new project.
The perspex was installed on the advice of a geotechnical engineering expert in 1977 - the same year the inscription was declared a statutory monument - with the aim of stopping the weathering process.
There is a gap of about 20cm between rock and screen.
However, experts who conducted a study for the Antiquities and Monuments Office in 2009 concluded the screen would, in fact, affect the micro-climate of the Song dynasty rock inscription, while also reducing its visibility to visitors.
"In the new design, the perspex screen will be removed and replaced with a visitor-friendly landscape barrier to keep visitors at a reasonable distance from the rock while they read the inscription.
"Conservation treatment of the inscription will also be arranged after the removal of the screen," a spokeswoman for the office told the South China Morning Post.

After taking different views from four specialists involved in the study, the office preferred the use of a "psychological barrier" between visitors and the rock.
Rough cobblestone flooring with an approximate area of three square metres with a brick-edge border will be constructed in front of the rock inscription.
The design is in line with the Antiquities Advisory Board's view that a balance should be struck so that the inscriptions "would not be overprotected or aggressively promoted", the office said.
William Meacham, a former chairman of the Hong Kong Archaeological Society and one of the four experts consulted on the study, disagreed with the office's proposal.
In the study, he recommended replacing the perspex screen with a glass window set in a stainless steel frame, which would seal off the carving from human touch while allowing people to see the text clearly and not interfering with the rock's natural equilibrium.
"The biggest threat is human. What is needed is a physical barrier, not a psychological barrier," the archaeologist said.
He warned that the rock would still face the threat of vandalism under the new design, like graffiti found at an ancient stone carving on Tung Lung Island in Sai Kung.


Rock inscription in Hong Kong to be protected by 'psychological barrier'

Ho Koon-wan, of Polytechnic University's Chinese culture department, admires the centuries-old inscription. Photo: Nora Tam

An artist's impression of the new design at Joss House Bay.

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Hong Kong

Oldest dated rock inscription in Hong Kong to get 'visitor-friendly landscape barrier' installed


Monuments officials have opted to replace the present perspex screen with a "visitor-friendly landscape barrier" instead of totally enclosing the inscription to prevent vandalism.


Rock inscription in Hong Kong to be protected by 'psychological barrier'

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Oldest dated rock inscription in Hong Kong to get 'visitor-friendly landscape barrier' installed

Oldest dated rock inscription in Hong Kong to get 'visitor-friendly landscape barrier' installed