Photo exhibition to showcase Hong Kong's heritage (with photos)

An exhibition featuring more than 100 valuable photos of Hong Kong's unique heritage buildings and scenes 35 years ago will be staged at the Central Police Station Compound from September 12 to October 14.

Jointly organised by the Commissioner for Heritage's Office and the Royal Asiatic Society (Hong Kong branch), the "Faces and Places: Heritage Photo Exhibition" aims to boost public awareness of heritage conservation and revitalisation.

The photos were taken during surveys covering Western District and the Mid-Levels in the 1970s and Wan Chai in 1980s, capturing a built environment and way of life that have passed into memory.

"The photos shown at the exhibition were chosen to highlight the important features, be they people, buildings, streets, customs and trades," the Commissioner for Heritage, Mr Jack Chan, said today (September 5).

The exhibition will open to the public daily between 10am and 7pm.

It will be moved to Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre between October 17 and November 11. The opening hours are 10am to 6pm from Mondays to Saturdays (except Thursdays) and 10am to 7pm on Sundays and public holidays. It is closed on Thurdays.

To enhance people's understanding of the history of old Hong Kong, five thematic talks will be held at the Headquarters Block, Central Police Station Compound:

* September 12 - "Early Development of Sheung Wan and the Establishment of Tung Wah Hospital" by Dr Joseph Ting
* September 19 - "Sheung Wan and the Western District before the Second World War through Historical Images" by Mr Ko Tim-keung
* September 26 - "Historical Development of the Central District" by Dr Patrick Hase
* October 3 - "The Beginning and Development of the Hollywood Road Antique Market" by Dr Lau Chi-pang
* October 10 - "Understanding Western Historical Architecture in Hong Kong from the Central Police Station Compound" by Mr Raymond Fung

Admission to the exhibition and thematic talks is free. For more details, visit (http://www.heritage.gov.hk/) or call 2848 6230.


Ends/Saturday, September 5, 2009
Issued at HKT 11:00

Tai Pak Terrace was the site of a popular entertainment location for the Chinese and was named after one of the most well-known poets in Chinese history, Li Tai Pak from the Tang dynasty. Typical activities included playing chess, watching the moon and composing poetry, calligraphy, tea drinking and taking caged birds for an airing. Vaccine Laboratory at Caine Lane was originally the Government Bacteriological Laboratory, and was completed in 1906. It was built of Canton-made brick, and roofed with encaustic tiles. This fine old building now houses the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences and is open to the public. A row of tenement buildings at Wing Lee Street. This is a typical early post-war tenement design. The old Wan Chai Post Office, built in 1915, is no longer used for postal services. It has been preserved as a declared monument under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance. Elderly people at the King George V Memorial Park, Sai Ying Pun.

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