In December last year, we wrote about the architecturally interesting St Mary’s Episcopal Church in Causeway Bay (on the way to Hong Kong Stadium).
The western church building is built in a mostly traditional Chinese style and even the pews sport Chinese and Christian characters.
I recently found an interesting programme on RTHK’s Hong Kong Stories series of television programmes, as a way of following up on my 2010 post. It deals with historical buildings around the Territory and includes the St Mary’s Church building as well as another beautiful building, the Catholic Cathedral in Cane Road, Central.
In addition to unpacking the relationship between Chinese religious architecture and western religion, the RTHK programme tells us more about the rich history of St Mary’s and how it came to being.
Click on the LINK to view it. (The part about St Mary’s is about 3/4 into the insert.)
After the conclusion of this year’s Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens, I was trawling the internet, when I came across some interesting tidbits about the Hong Kong Stadium.
When you read it you may, like me, wonder what the relationship is between the history of the Stadium site and that of the fortunes of our Springbok Sevens side at the Hong Kong Sevens.
Run by the richest sports organisation in the world, the Course was built in 1845 to provide horse racing for the British people in Hong Kong. (Hong Kong was a British colony at the time.) It was established on swampland but as it was the only flat ground suitable for horse racing on Hong Kong Island the site was developed into a suitable, world-class racing track.
The Happy Valley Fire
However, on 26 February 1918 a huge fire broke out and at least 590 punters and workers perished.
Many of the bodies were buried in So Kon Poin Causeway Bay.
The remains were relocated in 1953 to Aberdeen on the other side of the mountain to make way for the Hong Kong Government Stadium with a capacity of 28,000. Football in Hong Kong had some of it’s best times at this venue in the 60′s and 70′s.
In 1994 the Stadium was rebuilt into the current Hong Kong Stadium, capacity 40,000.
Venue of the world-renowned Hong Kong Sevens, many a team has had some memorable times at the Hong Kong Stadium.
However, for some, it has remained a burial ground.
Cathay Pacific Airways today announced that it will launch four major initiatives to tie in with Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department-led celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of aviation development in Hong Kong.
The airline will be giving away 1,800 free tickets to the Hong Kong public, inviting them to submit their thoughts on how air transport connects their home city with the world.
They will also launch a special fare promotion covering more than 20 destinations with fares as low as HK$990.
In addition, the carrier will run an aviation knowledge contest for students in Hong Kong, offering a unique delivery flight trip as a reward, and a special 100th Anniversary logo will go onto one of Cathay Pacific’s passenger aircraft.
Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Tony Tyler unveiled the special activities today together with officiating guests Ms Florence Hui, Under Secretary for Home Affairs, and Mr Norman Lo, Director-General Civil Aviation.
Speaking at the press launch, Mr Tyler said: “Over the past 64 years, Cathay Pacific has played an important role in the growth of Hong Kong’s aviation industry, and we are proud to launch these four initiatives to celebrate this important milestone in the city’s aviation development. As Hong Kong’s home carrier, Cathay Pacific is committed to the continued development of Hong Kong as one of the world’s leading aviation hubs, and we are pleased to be able to share in the anniversary celebrations with the public and our passengers.”
Mr Tony Tyler, Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific (right 2), Ms Florence Hui, Under Secretary for Home Affairs (middle) and Mr Norman Lo, Director-General Civil Aviation (left 2) reveal the Boeing 747-400 aircraft which carries the special 100th anniversary logo designed by the Civil Aviation Department. (Pics: CathayPacific.com)
On other news, Cathay Pacific is, of course, also a co-sponsor of the Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse Hong Kong Sevens later this month. Our sister-site BlitzBokke.com covered the Official Draw earlier at The Rotunda in Central. Here’s Cathay Pacific’s John Slosar and Credit Suisse’s Dumith Fernando officiating at the Draw:
Whenever I have to visit my son’s school in Causeway Bay (near the Hong Kong Stadium) I always want to kick myself when I pass a particular landmark in this area without a camera (my phone camera just doesn’t do it for me).
I found myself in Tung Lo Wan Road yesterday but this time I was well-equipped. The reason? There is a particular visually stunning Episcopal Church called St. Mary’s on the corner of Tung Lo Wan Road that is built in the traditional Chinese style.
It has been categorised as a Grade 3 historical building by the Hong Kong Government and was built in 1937
When you approach the red-brick structure that is built on a rise, you will be forgiven for mistaking it for a Chinese temple. Until you see the Christian cross above the main entrance.
I took a couple of pictures:
You can read more about St. Mary’s Church here and if you can read Chinese click here
I was moved to start the “Historical Hong Kong” category on Howzit-HongKong.com because of a video my Missus came across today.
I was always intrigued by the massive development that the city has undergone (and still is) in a relatively short space of time. Sadly this development is happening with scant regard for the culture and history that is lost in the process, often with the blessings of the government.
For example, I did a bit of Google-ing and found the following pic (no.2) of the area in Kowloon where I live, as it looked way back in 1972:
This is where I live now (Hung Hom):
This is what the same area looked like some 38 years ago:
I hope you will check back here for regular stories and video clips on how Hong Kong has grown into the world city it is today.
