Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Tung Wah Coffin Home

Tung Wah Coffin Home is a coffin home located upon the hill above on the Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong.

It was established in 1899 by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals. It is a temporary coffin depository. The coffins were of overseas Chinese who wanted to be buried in their home villages in China.

As the demand for the depository service is diminishing in recent years, the compound was to gradual deteriorated.

A major repair and conservation project was carried out to restore the Coffin Home from 2002 to 2004 so that the respective historical appearance of the compound can be preserved. The project won 2005 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Award .

Tiger Balm Garden (Hong Kong)

Tiger Balm Garden is located at 15, Tai Hang Road, Tai Hang, Wan Chai District, Hong Kong.

A 7-story White Pagoda is the highlight of the garden. Other tourist attractions include artificial Chinese landscaping dotted with sculptures.

History


It was built at a cost of HK$16 million by Aw Boon Haw and his family in 1935. It was opened to the public in the early 1950s; it was one of the first theme parks in Hong Kong.

Most of the Garden has been sold to be redeveloped into a residential area.
In 1998, the ownership inheritor, Aw Sian sold the whole Garden complex to a land development company, Cheung Kong.
The Hong Kong Government reached an agreement with the company for the Hong Kong Antiquities and Monuments Office to preserve and restore the Haw Par Mansion and its private garden when the Garden complex is redeveloped.

Haw Par Mansion


The 3-story Haw Par Mansion was the Aw family's former residence in Hong Kong.
It was built in the Chinese Renaissance style. There are more than 500 relics in the Mansion; they underwent restoration and repair. The building is graded as .

The Cenotaph (Hong Kong)

The Cenotaph , constructed in 1923 in the Statue Square, , Hong Kong Island, commemorates the dead in the First and Second World War .

Liberation Day Ceromonies at the Cenotaph


During British rule and after 1945, Liberation Day celebration took place here on the last Monday in August to commemorate the Liberation of Hong Kong from Japanese occupation in 1945. Formal celebration no longer take place as this date is no longer a general holiday in Hong Kong. Informal celebration by local and British servicemen continue each August at this site.

Sung Wong Toi

Sung Wong Toi is an important historic relic in Kowloon, Hong Kong. While its remaining portion is currently located in the Sung Wong Toi Garden in Ma Tau Wai, it was originally a 45 m tall boulder standing on the top of Sacred Hill in Ma Tau Chung above Kowloon Bay.

Literally Meaning


The name ''Sung Wong Toi'' literally means ''Terrace of the kings''. The stone is believed to have been a memorial to the last two boy emperors of the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Shi and Zhao Bing, who temporarily lived in Hong Kong from 1277 to 1279.

History


Sung Dynasty


According to historical records, the two young Sung emperors were pursued by the Mongolian army and fled south, eventually taking refuge at the Sacred Hill along the seashore. Zhao Shi died of illness in Hong Kong, while Zhao Bing died when a retainer put him on his shoulders and jumped off a cliff following the naval defeat of the Sung Dynasty by the Mongols at the Battle of Yamen.

Yuan Dynasty


After the Sung Dynasty was overthrown by the Mongol army in 1279 AD, local residents inscribed the words "Sung Wong Toi" on this large rock that was on the Sacred Hill at that time.

Note that the Chinese character is carved in the stone instead of the conventional character . The most likely reason is that the locals wished to avoid angering the new rulers. It not known whether 皇 was used initially, with the upper part of the character later cut off, or if 王 was used from the start.

Qing Dynasty


In 1807, seven smaller characters were added on the right side of the stone to record the renovation work in the tingmau year of the Qing Emperor Jiaqing.

Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong


During the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong in 1941-1945, the boulder was dislodged from its place when the Sacred Hill was leveled for an extension of the Kai Tak Airport. Fortunately, a portion of the rock inscribed with Chinese characters survived the blasting operation. That part of the boulder, about one-third of its original size, displays the Chinese name of the stone, "Sung Wong Toi."

Modern Days


After World War II this portion of the stone was shaped into a rectangular block and moved to the Sung Wong Toi Garden, a small park especially constructed for it. This park is located in the present-day , at the junction of Sung Wong Toi Road and Ma Tau Chung Road, which is close to the stone's original site. The construction work of the park was completed in the winter of 1945.

External link and references



*''In search of the past: a guide to the antiquities of Hong Kong'' 《香港文物志》, The Urban Council of Hong Kong, 1988.
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St. Mary's Canossian College

St. Mary's Canossian College is a Catholic girl's secondary school in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Founded in 1900, it is sited at the junction of Austin Road and Chatham Road South. Other Catholic buildings Rosary Church and St. Mary's Canossian School is adjacent to the school.

St Mary's School, as it was then known, was originally intended for the many girls living in Kowloon , though, gradually, it came to have a student population of over 98% .

Students are taught by a staff of Sisters and experienced teachers.

School sponsoring body


The Sisters of the Canossian Daughters of Charity, as missionaries, in the spirit of Magdalen of Canossa, their founder, was inspired to establish this school in 1900.

School motto



"Cor Unum et Via Una". This Latin phrase means "One Heart and One Way". 'One Heart'. 'One Way' signifies the Gospel way of truth and fullness of life, which is envisaged in the Canossian education mission. St. Marians, all united in spirit and action, pledge to walk together in God's love along the way of Gospel truth.

School description


St. Mary's has a population of around 1400 students, from Form One to Form Seven . When students reach F4 an F5, they could choose between 4 arts classes with slightly different subjects and 2 science classes.

Most of St. Mary's students qualify for local universities, though a good number prefer to go abroad, mainly to UK, U.S.A., Canada and Australia, for further studies. St. Mary's Alumnae have been admitted to academic institutions such as Cambridge, , Oxford, M.I.T., and Stanford. Most of them were or are scholarship holders, excelling in both curricular and extracurricular fields.

The school continues to keep and preserve its monumental looks with its long spiral staircase in the entrance to the main building. New buildings are continued to be built for the school's facilities.

St. Mary's is also renowned for its drama productions-like the recent ones e.g. Nefertiti and Psyche- where their drama teacher Mr. Geoff Oliver directs the play and writes the script while the students build the stage and help with the directions.

School history



St. Mary's Canossian College was founded in 1900 by the Institute of the Canossian Daughters of Charity, a Catholic Religious Institute founded by Magdalen of Canossa of the ancient noble family of Verona, Italy. Magdalen was canonised on 2 October 1988 for her sanctity and is honoured by the Church as St. Magdalen of Canossa.

The school started with only two classrooms for boys and girls in response to the need for a school in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. The small school admitted 30 pupils and was named St. Mary's School. The school developed rapidly as the population in Kowloon grew. In 1960 the enrolment was 2500 including the Primary Section. In the same year the Secondary Section was named "St. Mary's Canossian College", a grant-in-aid school for girls while the Primary Section was re-named "St. Mary's Canossian School".

St. Joseph Home for the Aged

St. Joseph Home for the Aged is a home for the old in Ngau Chi Wan, New Kowloon, Hong Kong. The premises was mentioned in some old tourist guides of Hong Kong. It was originally a villa owned by a wealthy businessman in Hong Kong and later transfer to Catholic charities.

Because of the historic significance, the whole site of the St Joseph's Home for the Aged is graded as Grade I historic building. The Dormity A, the Gate House and the Villa in St Joesph's Home for the Aged are also graded as .

The site is now under reconstruction after the home of the aged has moved; some of the historical buildings would be preserved ''in suit''.

St. Andrew's Church (Kowloon)

St. Andrew's Church is located on 138 Nathan Road, Kowloon. It is a church of the Anglican Province of Hong Kong and in the Diocese of Western Kowloon. It is the oldest Protestant church in Kowloon. The church provides many services on Sundays. It has services in English and Putonghua.

History



The idea of building an Anglican church in Kowloon was first suggested in 1897 but no progress was made until 1904, when Catchick Paul Chater offered $35,000 to finance the construction. The chosen site was next to a large garden area owned by Sir Paul, covering the area between Robinson Road and Austin Road.

Work began in November 1904, and was completed in 1906. The church was consecrated on October 6th 1906. It was built of granite and red brick in the Early English Gothic style.

This church was continuously used for Christian worship except during the period of Japanese occupation in the Second World War; it was used as a Shinto shrine during that period.

In 1979, St. Andrew’s Christian Centre was built. The Centre now houses different Christian organisations. The Church was restored in 1959.

The church was important to the early history of The Scout Association of Hong Kong: it organised the 2nd Scout Group in Hong Kong.

The church recently held its centenary celebrations which included the consecration of two new stained glass windows.

Style


The Victorian Gothic-style main building is in cruciform in plan; there is a single bell tower at the front right.