Jockey Club Lei Yue Mun Plus opens to promote local heritage and arts

12/18/2011

A HK$5.48 million donation from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has enabled the Kowloon Federation of Associations (Community Services) Foundation Limited to successfully convert an abandoned school in Lei Yue Mun into an educational, heritage and arts centre, which allows the public to know more about the culture and history of Lei Yue Mun.

The renovated building, named as the Jockey Club Lei Yue Mun Plus, was officially opened today (18 December). Officiating guests included Club Steward Dr Rita Fan Hsu Lai Tai, Secretary for Development Carrie Lam, Director General of Kowloon Sub-office of Central Government’s Liaison Office Lin Wu, Under Secretary for Home Affairs Florence Hui and Chairperson of Kowloon Federation of Associations (Community Services) Foundation Limited Ko Po Ling.

Dr Fan said, “It is a great pleasure for the Jockey Club to contribute to such a revitalisation project. We attach great importance to cultural and heritage conservation in Hong Kong, and over the past decade our Club has donated more than HK$1.3 billion to arts and cultural projects. Apart from complementing Government’s effort in renovating heritage sites such as the Central Police Station Compound, as well as creating heritage trails and revitalising old factory buildings, the Club’s Charities Trust has helped fund new arts and cultural facilities, along with arts programmes and personnel training back in the early days.”

With a total area of more than 700 square metres, Jockey Club Lei Yue Mun Plus is a two-storey resource centre to promote arts and culture in the community. It comprises a multi-purpose room, two activity rooms for performing arts, a ceramic workshop, a café and a rooftop garden overlooking the Lei Yue Mun Pass. There will be workshops, educational tours, exhibitions and other public programmes, which can benefit over 100,000 students and members of the public every year.

For those who are interested in knowing the development of Lei Yue Mun, there is a special gallery showing the history of the area, including the development of mining and ceramic industries in the early days and the building itself that was formerly Hoi Bun School. Artefacts collected by local residents are also showcased.

The new facility will enhance the attractiveness of Lei Yue Mun as a tourist spot, providing more in-depth and interesting details about the area to local and overseas visitors, and will also improve the local economy.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Founded in 1884, the Club has become one of Hong Kong’s best known and respected organisations, providing the public with world-class sporting entertainment as well as being the city’s major non-Government community benefactor, now donating more than HK$1 billion a year to charitable and community projects.  It has been a part of Hong Kong through good times and bad, sharing the city’s growth and development with its people, and is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for future generations.