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	news.gov.hk
	From Hong Kong's Information Services Department

December 5, 2006

Antiquities

Restored antiquity wins heritage award

Restoration work at Liu Ying Lung Study Hall has won an honourable mention in the 2006 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation.

Co-ordinated by the Antiquities & Monuments Office and the Restoration Committee of Hin Shing Tong, the works restored the hall's original Qing Dynasty look.

Time warp: The 168-year-old Liu Ying Lung Study Hall in Sheung Shui has been restored to its original Qing Dynasty appearance.

Living history

A Grade II historical building, the hall was built in 1838 to commemorate Liu Ying-lung, the fourth-generation ancestor of the Liu clan in Sheung Shui Wai, Sheung Shui.

It is a traditional two-hall premises with an open courtyard amidst its symmetrical and orderly layout. It is one of the three major ancestral halls built by the Liu clan since their settlement in the area.

Funded by the clan, the $5-million restoration work started in September 2004 and was completed last March. The works revived the original green-brick facade. Artists also re-painted faded and missing parts of the premises' murals. Other features were also conserved.

Meanwhile, St Andrew's Church also won a merit award in the UNESCO programme, which attracted 36 projects from 11 Asia-Pacific jurisdictions.