A 130-year-old temple in Hong Kong and a former maternity hospital that opened in 1922 have been declared as monuments by the city’s heritage advisory body.
Members of the Antiquities Advisory Board agreed on Thursday that Kwong Fook Tsz – a temple in Sheung Wan – and the Main Building of Old Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital in Sai Ying Pun had “significant heritage value” and should be listed as monuments, local media reported.
According to a document prepared by the board for Thursday’s meeting, the Old Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital – now a community centre – was founded by the Chinese Public Dispensaries Committee. It was the city’s first maternity hospital for Chinese women.
The hospital relocated to Hospital Road in 1955, while the former site was converted into the Tsan Yuk Social Centre in 1961. It was renamed “Western District Community Centre” in 1973.
The red brick building was said to symbolise the “cooperation between Chinese leaders and Western medics in the early development and provision of maternal health services” in the city.
‘Iconic 4-storey building’
The advisory body also described the former hospital site as “an iconic four-storey building with a basement featuring exemplary neoclassical architecture juxtaposed with Chinese elements.”
It also said that many of the building’s architectural features remained intact and were still in good condition.
“Until now, it has continued to play a significant role in serving the local community in public healthcare and well-being,” it wrote.
‘Exceptional historical significance’
The heritage advisory body also granted the monument status to Kwong Fook Tsz, which was built in 1895. The temple, proposed in 1851 by a group of local merchants, stored soul tablets of mainland Chinese labourers who died in Hong Kong, the document said.
The board praised the temple for having “exceptional historical significance,” saying it had provided refuge and medical services for the sick, the homeless, and the elderly.
The elevated temple was a “prominent landmark” in the area, with its grey bricks and granite doorway well preserved.
The declaration on Thursday marked an upgrade in the protection status of both historic buildings. The Main Building of Old Tsan Yuk Maternity Hospital was listed as a Grade 1 building under administrative guidelines adopted by the board in 2009. The same status was accorded to Kwong Fuk Tsz last June.
Grade 1 buildings are of “outstanding merit, which every effort should be made to preserve if possible,” the board said on its website.
