RA@ Hong Kong Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

The Hong Kong Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (traditional Chinese: 聖母無原罪主教座堂) is the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong. It is the seat of the Diocesan bishop, currently John Tong Hon. The Cathedral is one of the two cathedrals in the city of Hong Kong, the other being the Anglican St. John's Cathedral.

It is located at 16 Caine Road, Central. It is open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm daily. It is graded as Grade I Historic Building.

The first Roman Catholic cathedral of Hong Kong was built in 1843 on Wellington Street and destroyed in a fire in 1859. The cathedral was rebuilt, but subsequently a different site was selected just above Caine Road by the Glenealy Ravine, where it is still located today. The Cathedral was designed by Crawley and Company of London. Construction of the new building started in 1883. Services first began in July 1886 under the auspices of the Apostolic Vicar Dominic Pozzoni and the first Mass was celebrated on 7 December 1888.



(The narthex in the Cathedral)



It was a Cathedral from the time it was built, as the seat of the apostolic vicariate that preceded the establishment of the diocese in 1946; however, it was not consecrated as a cathedral until 1938.

The Cathedral’s original timber roof was replaced with a concrete roof in 1952; the main altar was also reconstructed in the early 1980s.

                                                         (The nave of the Cathedral)

The Cathedral underwent renovation in 2002, and the renovation project was recognized by an Honorable Mention in the 2003 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

The Cathedral measures 272 feet (83 m) long and 132 ft (40 m) wide, with 38 columns. It is an imposing Gothic Revival style built in a Greek cruciform shape with a tower at the intersection of the nave and transepts. It is constructed predominantly of bricks and stone over a granite platform and is supported by external buttresses.

                                                        (The exterior of the Cathedral)

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Catholic_Cathedral_of_the_Immaculate_Conception
http://cathedral.catholic.org.hk/index.php?id=2
http://www.catholic.org.hk/v2/b5/index.html

C @ King Yin Lei

The 1937-built King Yin Lei is a rare surviving example of Chinese Renaissance style that reflected the design and construction excellence in both Chinese and Western architecture of Hong Kong. The "East-meets-West" construction methods have made the building a rarity in Hong Kong and an outstanding piece of art.The building was sold in 1978 to the Yow family - Mr. Yow Qhei-man and his son Mr. Yow Mok-shing, who gave the name "King Yin Lei" to the building which meant "house of virtuous views".

The building is important in signifying the historical development of Hong Kong. As one of the luxurious historic houses located along the hillside of Hong Kong Island, the building reflects the rising status and growing wealth of the Chinese community in Hong Kong. It also represents an earlier phase of Hong Kong history when the upper-class residential area took shape in the Mid-Levels.

The mansion, built in 1937, sits on a 50 650 square feet site. The three-storey building is a “red bricks and green tiles" mansion of Chinese Renaissance or Chinese Neo Classical Style, which reinterprets traditional Chinese architectural form in the light of western design techniques. A private garden festooned with bonsai plants, various pavilions and terraces encircles the mansion. It has been a scenic spot for mainland and overseas tourists.

The social value of the building also lies in the role it played in the film heritage and entertainment industry of Hong Kong. The mansion has been featured in films of international renown such as "Soldier of Fortune" (1955), "Love is a Many-Splendoured Thing" (1955) .

The building was sold to its current owner in August 2007, and works to remove the roof tiles, stone features and window frames were noticed on site in early September 2007. Restoration works are being carried out and expected to be completed in 2010.


Address: 45 Stubbs Road, Mid-Levels

Sources:
http://gwulo.com/king-yin-lei
www.conservancy.org.hk/heritage/KYL_E.htm
www.heritage.gov.hk/en/doc/KingYinLeiInfo.pdf

               

C@Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail

Hey... Do you remember what my last blog was? This is about the Lo Wai Wall and at the end of my blog was introduced you a heritage trail. Now I would like to introduce the trail for you -- Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail (1.8km).

Located just outside Fanling in the North East New Territories, the Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail was opened in 1999. The name Lung Yeuk Tau was derived from the nearby mountain range Lung Yeuk Ling (Mountain of the Leaping Dragon) whose name came from the legendary saying that there was once a dragon leaping in the area.

I would like to introduce some of the major sights on the Heritage Trail.

TSUNG KYAM CHURCH - built 1926 is a church of the Basel Mission and was extended in 1951. A village gradually developed around the church and two old houses named “Kin Tak Lau” still survive today. The church is a private property and not open to the public.

Many traditional Chinese buildings and structures such as temples and ancestral halls, walls and entrance gates of walled villages and residences still retain their original appearance and can be visited along the trail.

TANG CHUNG LING ANCESTRAL HALL – the main ancestral hall of the Tang Clan of Lung Yeuk Tau was built in the early 16th century in memory of Tang Chung Ling, the founding ancestor. It is a three-hall building exquisitely decorated with fine wood carvings, polychrome plaster moldings and murals of auspicious motifs fully reflecting the superb craftsmanship of the old days. Open daily 9am to 5pm (closed 1pm to 2pm for lunch), except Tuesdays, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and the first three days of Lunar New Year.

TIN HAU TEMPLE – adjacent to the Tang Ling Ancestral Hall and devoted to the worship of Tin Hau and her guards Chin Lei Ngan and Shun Fung Yi. There are two bronze bells, cast in 1695 and 1700, placed on the floor of the chamber alongside the main hall. The date of construction of the temple is unknown but it was restored in 1913 and again in 1981.

TRAIL WEBSITE

http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/Museum/Monument/en/trails_lung.php

How To Get There

Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail
MTR Fanling Station, take green minibus 54K or take a taxi to Lung Yeuk Tau and alight at Shung Him Tong.

Source

http://www.hongkongextras.com/_lung_yeuk_tau_heritage_trail.html

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/attractions/nt-lungyeuktau-heritage-trail.html

http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Monument/en/trails_lung.php

 

ERI@HONG KONG HERITAGE MUSEUM

To know more about HK heritage, the most quickest and effective way must be going to the museum. There is always the overall historical information of HK. It have totally 12 galleries included 6 permanent galleries with different topics.These are the 6 permanent galleries:

                          Orientation Theatre

                        Children's Discovery Gallery

                      Cantonese Opera Heritage Hall

                         T.T.Tsui Gallery of Chinese Art

                          Chao Shao-an Gallery

                      New Territories Heritage Hall

What I would like to introduce is this New Territories Heritage Hall. It contains many traditional shops, a Hakka fishing village and history of the New Towns in HK. There are still Hakka fishing villages in HK. The most popular attraction must be Tai O fishing vilage located on Lantau Island. It is divided into 2 parts linked together by a river with about 5,500 people, mainly of them are Hakka. There is a link of Tai O Fishing Village, you can know more about it in this website, http://www.chinatourguide.com/Hongkong/tai_o_fishing_village.html.

Sources:

http://www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk/chinese/main.asp
http://www.chinatourguide.com/Hongkong/tai_o_fishing_village.html
http://www.cpes.tyc.edu.tw/~team76/new_page_2-02.htm