Government House, Hong Kong
The Government House (Chinese: 香港禮賓府) was the residence of the Governor of Hong Kong from 1855 to 1997. It nestles at the Government Hill, Central, Hong Kong Island. The building was built in 1855, designed by Charles St George Cleverly.
History
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Government House was previously the official residence and office of 25 of Hong Kong's 28 Governors. Construction works started in 1851, eight years after Hong Kong was declared a British colony, and took four years to complete. The first Governor to live there was Sir John Bowring, the 4th Governor of the territory. The last one was the last Governor, Chris Patten.
Sir Hercles Robinson also had a residence, Mountain Lodge, built as an alternate home. Only the Gate Lodge and Victoria Peak Garden remains. Fanling Lodge in the New Territories remains the alternate residence after 1997.
In 1891, an annex was added to the house for social functions (namely the Ballroom). During the Japanese occupation during World War II (1941-1945), it was occupied by the Japanese Military Governor. The form of the building changed to a hybrid Japanese / NeoClassical image by Seichi Fujimura in 1944, primarily through the addition of a tower and roof elements.
Since the handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China (1997), the House has become a guesthouse and is used for formal banquets. Tung Chee Hwa resided at Harbour View, 11 Magazine Gap Road and Grenville House from 1997 to 2005 (He did not mobe in because of bad "feng shui"). Donald Tsang, the current Chief Executive, has said he was going to move in, but the schedule has not yet been announced. Some renovation is still taken place at the moment, and a pool is expectedly built for Tsang's favourite koi.
Major features
The main entrance of the House faces south towards the Victoria Peak. Down on the northern side is the Central Government Offices, where most Government Secretariat offices are situated.
Government House has a front lawn and a back garden. Eminent among the plants in the garden are the numerous azaleas that come to full bloom in spring. Inside, the Ballroom, the Drawing Room, the Dining Room and the Conference Room are frequently used for receiving guests at official functions.
Open Days
The Garden of Government House is open six times a year to the public. At least one will be arranged in spring to enable members of the public to share the delight in viewing the full bloom of the azaleas. Visitors are usually allowed to pass by the Drawing Room, Dining Room and Ballroom where key official functions are held.
The Open Days are generally arranged during the weekends. Dates will be announced through press releases to be issued nearer the time. No admission fee is needed.
Booking
The Ballroom of Government House is reserved on three Fridays in a month for bookings by charitable, non-profit or public organisations to host events that benefit the community. The nature of the event under application must be well-matched with the identity of Government House as an important historical monument of Hong Kong and with its status as a dignified location for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government to hold official functions.
Trivia
According to an urban legend, the nearby Bank of China Tower was deliberately designed to shape like a blade so as to bring bad Feng Shui to the Government House and its British administration. Whether deliberate or not, a number of feng shui masters have expressed that the feng shui for Government House, which is surrounded by skyscrapers, is far from optimal. According to media reports, this was precisely the reason Tung Chee Hwa refused to live or work in Government House upon becoming Chief Executive. Ironically, during his terms as Chief Executive, he was still heavily critised by the local population, and his popularity in the long run fell to well below 40% by the time of his resignation.
See also
External link
- Government House Monument, official website
