Archives: Activity

 

Our annual boat trip takes us to yet another fascinating area of Hong Kong. In this boat trip we will visit 3 sites in Tolo Channel namely: Sham Chung, Lai Chi Chong and Tap Mun Island.

 

Brief itinerary:

1. Start from Ma Liu Shiu Pier(馬料水) ;

2. From the boat, view the new town development of Ma On Shan and Plover Cove Reservoir.

3. Landing at Sham Chung Village (深涌), it is a beautiful Hakka village surrounded by mountains with streams in between. Part of the village has been acquired by a developer and the rest remains abandoned. There had been a church, village houses, school and agricultural land in this village. It is also surrounded by Country Parks as one of the excision areas. It has been rated as one of 12 important ecological sites since 2004. It is rich in habitats such as mangroves, Fung Shiu Woodland (風水林), abandoned agricultural land, mudflats (沿岸泥灘), streams and grassland.    

4. Landing at Lai Chi Chong (荔枝莊). The coastline is part of the UNESCO Global Geopark. A belt of Early Cretaceous volcanoclastic sedimentary rock strata called Lai Chi Chong Formation can be found along the coast. Many micro geological features can be observed such as bedding, folding and faults and many other interesting features.

5. Lunch at Tap Mun (塔門). This is an island with residents to the eastern part of the Tolo Channel. We will enjoy a simple lunch and look at the Tap Mun’s natural, social and cultural features.

6. Return to Ma Liu Shiu around 16:00.

Resource Persons

Dr. Wong Fook-yee (王福義) is an avid hiker and nature lover. He was formerly the Assistant Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of Hong Kong (Country and Marine Park Branch), and is now Adjunct Professor of the Geography and Resource Management Department at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Mr. To Ka Yan (杜嘉恩) is a geographer and geomorphologist. He was formerly a teacher trainer specializing in geographical and environmental education, and served as Senior Lecturer in the Education University of Hong Kong.

 

The HKU Museum Society and the University Museum and Art Gallery are pleased to arrange a guided viewing of Searching Through Teaching: Professor Jao Tsung-I’s 16 Years at The University of Hong Kong. The viewing will be led by Dr. Thomas Tang and Dr. Peter Cheng.

The works on exhibit, which date from Professor Jao’s 1952–1968 tenure at HKU, illustrate how this period of teaching, research and international exchange turned Professor Jao into an internationally acclaimed scholar. Dr. Tang and Dr. Cheng will walk us through the exhibition and introduce the life and work of Professor Jao and his achievements, scholarship and teaching at The University of Hong Kong.

Resource Persons

Dr. Peter Cheng is currently Senior Researcher and Deputy Director (Research) of Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole, HKU. He has a wide range of research interests, including classic Chinese literature and the history of ancient China. He has published over 50 books and over 100 research articles, and has received 18 academic awards. Dr. Cheng is also a creative writer (penname Weiming) who has authored 11 collections of poetry and other literary genres.

Dr. Thomas Tang is Deputy Director (Art) of the Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole, HKU, and is an experienced art collector and connoisseur. He was a senior executive in several television corporations in Hong Kong and Macau, and managed the production of numerous programmes, including a series on the National Palace Museum in Taipei and Palace Museum in Beijing. He has lectured in a number of tertiary institutions. He is the author and editor of hundreds of publications on various subjects including Chinese painting.

We will start off the evening with a guided tour in English of the Grand Theatre of the newly opened Xiqu Centre located in the West Kowloon Cultural District.  The building’s striking design, created by Revery Architecture (formerly Bing Thom Architects) and Ronald Lu & Partners, was inspired by traditional Chinese lanterns and blends traditional and contemporary elements to reflect the evolving nature of the art form.  Stepping through the main entrance, shaped to resemble parted stage curtains, visitors are led directly into a lively atrium with a raised podium and space for presenting the rich and ancient culture of Chinese traditional theatre.

The Grand Theatre accommodates over 1,000 seats and a unique feature of the Grand Theatre is its location at the top of the building, which allows for a large open atrium below with space for exhibitions, stalls, and xiqu (戲曲) demonstrations and workshops.

Following a tour of the Grand Theatre, we will visit backstage to see Li Pui-yan (李沛妍) dress and make-up for her female role in the new Cantonese Opera performance, Lady Spring Fragrance《春香傳》.  The performance will be in Cantonese with Chinese and English surtitles

Adapted from a well-known Korean folk tale, this new opera is set in imperial China and recounts the forbidden love between a courtesan’s daughter, Cheng Chunxiang (Lady Spring Fragrance), and Li Wenyan the son of a magistrate. Despite challenges and hardships, Cheng remains committed to her lover. But will Li risk a promising career and fight for Cheng in the face of danger? 

 

Performer 

Born in New York from a family of Cantonese opera heritage and a graduate from Wellesley College, Li Pui-yan (李沛妍) has been taught by numerous famed Cantonese opera performers.  Since her debut as principal actress in Floral Princess (Youth Edition) in 2007, she has performed for the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Chinese Opera Festival, Macau Arts Festival as well as the benefit inaugural performance at ASHK’s Miller Theatre.  Her repertoire ranges from classics to new productions such as Deling and the Empress Dowager Ci Xi and Arrant Revenge, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  Recently, through working with artists from other disciplines, such as Ming Wong and Mariko Mori, she is inspired to further explore the cross-disciplinary potential of this traditional art form. Aside from performing, Li is devoted to the English translation of Cantonese opera librettos and has served on the Cantonese Opera Advisory Committee in Hong Kong for various terms.

 

Professor Puay-peng Ho, the project’s conservation consultant will guide us on a tour of the Hong Kong Jockey Club University of Chicago Academic Complex/The
University of Chicago Francis and Rose Yuen Campus in Hong Kong and its Heritage
Courtyard and Interpretation Centre.

The site was originally part of the Jubilee Battery at Mount Davis, which formed part of Hong Kong’s western coastal defence system. After World War II, it was occupied as a makeshift housing for refugees before being converted into a British Army Royal
Engineers’ mess and quarters. It became the Victoria Road Detention Centre under
the Special Branch of the Hong Kong Police Force starting in 1961 and was
simultaneously used for police training purposes. Later it was also used by the Force’s witness protection programme. The site was unoccupied since 1997 except for the occasional use as a movie set, including the film Lust, Caution.

The new academic complex for the University of Chicago was designed by
internationally renowned Revery Architecture. The symbolic Flame Tree, also known as Phoenix Tree, on the site inspired the “Treehouse of Knowledge” design concept of the late architect Bing Thom in which a ribbon-shaped building floats above the contours of the site and integrates with the Grade 3 heritage buildings, touching down only at points of least intrusion.

Resource Persons
Professor Puay-peng Ho is currently the Head of the Department of Architecture,
School of Design and Environment, National University of Singapore. Previously he
was Professor of Architecture at The Chinese University of Hong Kong. He received
his First Class Honours degree in Architecture from the University of Edinburgh and a Ph.D in Art History from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of
London.

Members are invited to celebrate the Chinese New Year with a private dinner at Café Malacca. Located at the footsteps of the University in the Western District, the
restaurant features authentic Malaysian and Singaporean hawker fares made famous along the Strait of Malacca – Penang, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

Under the supervision of Café Malacca’s Culinary Director Mrs. Poon, the culinary
team travels to Malaysia and Singapore to immerse themselves in the proper
preparation and presentation of classic hawker food, including recipes and cooking
techniques, and tracks down interesting and unique dishes for the indulgence of diners in Hong Kong.

Their culinary team will prepare a special CNY menu including some of the national
favourites of Malaysia and Singapore – Satay, Pepper Crab, Char Koay Teow, Laksas,
and the rich and creamy Durian Pudding made from D24 or Musang King Durians.

Resource Person
Mrs. Poon is a Penang native with microbiologist and biochemist background who
contributes to the authenticity and accuracy of every dish served at Café Malacca. To offer the most original flavours from the Malay Peninsula, she ensures that every detail is exact, from the sauces and the garnishes to the way they are plated and cut. She is passionate and meticulous about sourcing only the most authentic ingredients to produce unmistakable Malaysian and Singaporean flavours.

 

The porcelain industry is an integral part of the art, culture and history of Hong Kong. As a world trading port in the 20th century, Hong Kong developed unique painted porcelain with diverse shapes and rich decorations using continually innovative techniques. This particular type of painted porcelain, known as Gangcai, combines Chinese and Western cultural elements, while presenting the distinct local colour of Hong Kong. Popular among both the Chinese and Western communities, Gangcai represents the prime period of the painted porcelain industry in Hong Kong.

 

The exhibition, Golden Splendours: 20th-Century Painted Porcelains of Hong Kong, is jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society. It showcases painted porcelain made by local painters and factories, including styles in imitation of ancient porcelain and armorial porcelain, produced mainly for export, as well as ceramic items for decoration and household use commonly found in Hong Kong. Complete with historical photos, manuscripts, hand-drawn designs, pigments, tools, and more, the exhibition offers an elucidating study of the development and characteristics of painted porcelain in Hong Kong and of its achievements as an industry.

 

Ms. Lai Suk Yee, a Museum Expert Adviser to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong Government, and a Researcher at The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society, will give a talk on Golden Splendours and guide us through the exhibition.  Thereafter, a curator or artist of the exhibition will lead us through the second exhibition, Claylaboration: Contemporary Ceramic Art.

 

Claylaboration is an exhibition presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.  Bringing ceramists and creative talent from other fields together, it will offer you a unique experience in art through their exchanges of innovative concepts and techniques.

 

By transferring photographic images to ceramic plates, Fiona Wong transforms a moment in time into eternity. Immerse yourself in the surreal atmosphere of Yokky Wong’s black-and-white ceramic studio and peek into her intimate world of personal memories. Wy Lee and Ryan Hui will guide you into the world of Zen through hundreds of ceramic bowls. As you admire the elegant dancing ceramic figures by Nick Poon, just one second of evil thoughts will transfer you into Rosanna Li’s purgatory to redeem your sins. Don’t worry! Jakie Leung’s delicate porcelain work will bring you back to the human world, where you can enjoy the artist’s fine craftsmanship under shimmering lights. Annie Wan puts her ceramic books to the test of a searing blaze, and a rainbow rises from the ashes. And what do you find underneath Chan Kiu Hong’s thousands of ceramic scales? Is it a sleeping monster? As you step into this exhibition, it will surely creep into your imagination, making you gasp for breath.

 

 

Resource Person

Lai Suk Yee is currently a Museum Expert Adviser to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong Government, and a Researcher at The Hong Kong Ceramics Research Society (HKCRS). Over the last three years, she has been doing research at the capacity of the Research Consultant to the Guangcai/Gangcai Project of the HKCRS. In December 2018, the HKCRS presents with Hong Kong Heritage Museum to share the initial findings of the research with the public in the form of the exhibition Golden Splendours: 20th-Century Painted Porcelains of Hong Kong.

 

「北洋軍‧政‧歲月」展覽導賞

北洋軍閥是中國近代史上一個影響深遠的軍事政治集團，其歷史始於1895年袁世凱在天津小站練兵，他一方面擴充軍事力量，同時又在中央和地方安插親信，逐漸形成以袁世凱為首的北洋軍閥集團，左右清末以至民初的朝政。袁世凱於1916年死後，缺乏有實力和威望的人代替他統馭這個集團。由於權力鬥爭，北洋軍閥遂分裂為皖、直、奉系三大勢力，內戰使各系輪流執政。直到1928年國民革命軍北伐成功，北洋軍閥才結束管治。北洋軍閥的興衰，有助理解近代中國政局的複雜發展。

展覽包括天津博物館、香港歷史博物館、東華三院及本港藏家所借出的珍貴文物，例如牌匾、勳章、指揮刀、旗、文件和明信片等。導賞將由一位研究北洋軍閥勳章達三十年及借出藏品作今次展覽的本會會員以廣東話主講，重點集中於北洋軍閥勳章的發展及趣聞。

 

The Beiyang warlords were extremely influential military and political powers in modern Chinese history which started in 1895 with Yuan Shikai’s trained soldiers in Xiaozhan, Tianjin.  He expanded his influence through military build-up while placing his trusted aides in the central and local governments.  Over time, the Beiyang warlords headed by Yuan Shikai were powerful enough to influence the politics of the late Qing and early Republican periods.  Following Yuan’s death in 1916, no one with the same strength and imposing reputation could take his place as leader.  Power struggles among the Beiyang warlords led to the formation of the Anhui, Zhili and Fengtian cliques, with each taking turn to rule the north.  The Beiyang warlords ceased to exist as a viable political force when the Northern Expedition of the National Revolutionary Army succeeded in 1928.  The rise and fall of the Beiyang warlords shed light on the complex development of the political situation of modern China.

The exhibition is comprised of various invaluable relics such as plaque, orders and medals, swords, flags, documents and postcards, etc., from the Tianjin Museum, Hong Kong Museum of History, Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, as well as Hong Kong collectors.  Our guided tour will be led by a member of the HKU Museum Society whose collection forms part of this exhibition.  He has been researching the orders and medals of Beiyang warlords for 30 years. His talk will be conducted in Cantonese with interesting stories related to the development of these orders and medals.