Leisure and Cultural Services Department - Antiquties and Monuments Office

Minutes of Meeting

Board Minutes
AAB/8/2005-06

ANTIQUITIES ADVISORY BOARD

MINUTES OF THE OPEN SESSION OF THE 125^th MEETING HELD ON
WEDNESDAY 5 JULY 2006 AT 4:05 P.M.
IN CONFERENCE ROOM, HERITAGE DISCOVERY CENTRE
KOWLOON PARK, HAIPHONG ROAD, TSIM SHA TSUI, KOWLOON

Present: Mr Edward Ho, SBS, JP(Chairman)
Dr Chan Wai-kwan, JP
Prof Leslie Chen Hung-chi
Mr James Hong Shu-kin
Mr Kwong Hoi-ying
Prof Peter Lam Yip-keung
The Hon Patrick Lau Sau-shing, SBS, JP
Ms Paddy Lui Wai-yu, JP
Mr Almon Poon Chin-hung, JP
Ir Dr Greg Wong Chak-yan, JP
Miss Sylvia Yau Siu-fee, JP
Ms Lisa Yip Sau-wah
Ms Heidi Kwok(Secretary)
      Senior Executive Officer (Antiquities and Monuments)
      Leisure and Cultural Services Department

Absent with Apologies: Dr Chan Man-hung, JP
Mr Patrick Fung Pak-tung, SC
Mr Daniel Heung Cheuk-kei, SBS, JP
Prof Kwok Siu-tong
Mr Billy Lam Chung-lun, SBS, JP
Prof Bernard Lim Wan-fung
Mr Ng Yat-cheung, JP
Dr Linda Tsui Yee-wan
Prof Yeung Kin-fong

In Attendance:
Home Affairs Bureau
Ms Esther Leung
Deputy Secretary (3)
Mr Peter Kwok
Principal Assistant Secretary (Culture)2
Ms Elsa Wong
Chief Executive Officer (Heritage)
Miss Susanna Siu
Chief Curator (Heritage)
Leisure and Cultural Services Department
Mr Gerard Tsang
Assistant Director (Heritage and Museums)
Dr Louis Ng
Executive Secretary (Antiquities and Monuments)
Ms Cissy Ho
Curator (Historical Buildings)
Mr Kevin Sun
Curator (Archaeology)
Mr Richie Lam
Senior Manager (Antiquities and Monuments)
Mrs Ada Yau
Curator (Education and Publicity)
Mr Ng Chi-wo
Assistant Curator I (Rural Architecture)
Mrs June Tong
Principal Marketing Coordinator (Heritage and Museums)
Miss Addy Wong
Senior Marketing Coordinator (Heritage and Museums)
Ms Yvonne Chan
Executive Officer I (Antiquities and Monuments)
Planning Department
Mr Anthony Kwan
Assistant Director/Metro
Architectural Services Department
Mr S L Lam
Senior Property Services Manager/Eastern and Antiquities

Opening Remarks Action

The Chairman started the meeting at 4:05 p.m. Before going into the agenda items, he said that he had received letters from the Hon Chan Wai-yip and the Hon Patrick Lau requesting for discussion of the preservation value of the Dragon Garden. In view of the sensitivity involved, the issue was discussed at the closed session of the AAB meeting. He stated that the AAB would follow the prescribed procedures for assessing historic buildings after obtaining the AMO's professional advice. As AMO had up to the present limited information of the Dragon Garden and the owner had not given his consent for AMO to visit the site, the AMO was unable to conduct a heritage assessment on the Garden. He informed that the AMO conducted a territory-wide building survey in 1997, which recorded about 8,000 buildings. According to the record, the site of the Dragon Garden was acquired from Government in 1948 and by assumption the Garden was built in or after 1950. Probably for this reason, the Garden was excluded from the said building survey, which focused on pre-1950 buildings. He noted the public concern and said that the AMO would follow up the case. After obtaining more information on the Dragon Garden, the AAB would discuss the issue further.

Item 1    Rescue Excavation at Cheung Shue Tan, Tai Po
(Board Paper AAB/65/2005-06)

Presentation Session
2.	Mr Kevin Sun briefed Members on the following major aspects as detailed in the paper:
	The background of the Cheung Shue Tan Archaeological Site; The proposed rescue excavation at Cheung Shue Tan, Tai Po was necessitated by the Civil Engineering Development Department (CEDD)'s proposed road project and funded by CEDD. Due to delay in resumption of private land, the excavation would now be postponed from August to October 2006; and Post-excavation research, exhibitions and educational activities would be organized to promote public awareness of protecting archaeological heritage.
Discussion Session
3.	Major comments and questions raised by Members were as follows:
	a.	There was reservation on whether the proposed road work had been approved to proceed as it involved land resumption;
	b.	A few years ago, Dr Tang Chung, Director of Centre for Chinese Archaeology and Art of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CU) had discovered some sherds dating back to the pre-historic New Stone Age some 6,000 years ago on the A Chau off the Tolo Harbour. As there were few such archaeological sites in West New Territories, the archaeological investigation at Cheung Shue Tan was welcome and supported as it would shed light on the age and distribution of pre-historic archaeological sites in Hong Kong. Whether the teaching staff of CU could be involved or assist in the archaeological excavation.
4.	Mr Kevin Sun responded that the proposed road work had been gazetted and there should be no problem to proceed with the road work upon the land resumption. He added that to tie in with the excavation, Dr Tracey Lu of the Department of Anthropology, CU had been invited to conduct research on Environmental Studies and Subsistence (史前環境研究) and the Faculty of Earth Sciences (地球科學系), HKU had been invited to conduct Optically-stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating research. In addition, local archaeologists would also be invited to participate in the excavation in compliance with Government's Stores and Procurement regulations. He said that when the excavation programme was finalized, AMO would arrange with schools and universities for visits to the archaeological site to enable students to understand the excavation process.
5.	Dr Louis Ng supplemented that the Cheung Shue Tan Archaeological Site covered an extensive area. The proposed rescue excavation covered only a small area of the Site affected by the proposed road project which could not be diverted, as the current practice of archaeological preservation was to keep the archaeological site intact.
Item 2		Heritage Virtual Tour System (Board Paper AAB/66/2005-06)
Presentation Session
6.	Mrs Ada Yau introduced the following major aspects as detailed in the paper, followed by a demonstration of the Heritage Virtual Tour System by Ms Shirley Chan of Information Technology Division, LCSD, using Liu Man Shek Tong, Sheung Shui as an example:
	The background and purpose of developing the Heritage Virtual Tour System; The design and development of the system, which would be launched for public viewing by early 2007; and Significance of the Heritage Virtual Tour System.
Discussion Session
7.	Major comments and questions raised by Members were as follows:
	3-D presentation of the virtual tour of Li Cheng Uk Tomb during the recent CU Open Day, using animation devices, was very interesting with the opening of a door device to reveal a different section of the tomb, making the viewer feel that he was actually exploring the site. By comparison, demonstration of the Heritage Virtual Tour seemed a bit slow in motion and less interesting; It should be noted that while the 3-D presentation model was adoptable and more interesting, the heritage details presented might not be so real from heritage appreciation point of view; It should be adapted to suit different target groups, e.g. students, academics. As an educational tool, the presentation should be true to the original heritage. Thus, it might not be appropriate to add doors device within an ancient tomb to make the presentation more interesting; Whether the System had any linkage with other websites, e.g. the Hong Kong Institute of Architects (HKIA)'s website, which also had a lot of information on historic buildings; It was suggested to hyper-link the System with Education and Manpower Bureau's website 'HKedCity' in order to promote students and youngsters' awareness towards local heritage. Moreover, consideration could be made to draw comparisons, if any, among historic buildings of similar style, e.g. ancestral hall in Hong Kong, the Mainland and Overseas to enhance viewers' understanding of different cultures; We are living in an information explosion era when the public was flooded with information but lacking the ability to assimilate it and ask basic questions. Thus, some basic and user-friendly education modules could be introduced to guide the viewers step by step through hyper-links, which could be further developed into a Heritage Education Policy Statement; Visual and audio aids, e.g. background music, transportation network and nearby heritage sites could be added to the website to attract more viewers to visit them and that the System should be launched as soon as possible with further improvement having regard to experience obtained; If the System was developed to encourage the public from visiting the heritage site, only basic rather than detailed information needed to be provided in the virtual system; and As a starting point, the system aimed at attracting more public viewers while at the end, the viewers should be encouraged to physically visit the heritage site.
8.	Mrs Ada Yau responded that AMO would liaise with CU on sharing their experience in developing the virtual tour system. Animation devices would be introduced as far as possible to make the virtual tour more interactive and lively. Upon launching of the System, AMO would discuss with the HKIA and other relevant organizations to consider if their systems could be hyper-linked.
9.	Dr Louis Ng supplemented that this database system was still at its elementary developmental stage and from which a lot of programmes could be developed for education, tourism, research and survey purposes. This system could also be further enhanced with reference to new technology and customers' feedback, i.e. teachers and stakeholders. He added that heritage tourism and education were two important areas of AMO's work and some animated and innovative programmes could be devised with the assistance of the IT Division of LCSD. He explained that the System is designed to cater for the needs of different target groups such as the physically handicapped and overseas viewers, who may not be able to visit the heritage sites. It is intended to encourage and enhance but not to replace the physical visit to the heritage sites as the impact of viewing a historic building on the website was very different from physical contact with it.
10.	Ms Shirley Chan added that the AMO had been improving its computerized database system of heritage information by introducing the Geographical Information System on Heritage (GISH), the Heritage Virtual Tour System and the Traditional Architectural Information System (TAIS). By early 2007 when these systems were respectively launched, AMO would have provided a large volume of antiquities and monuments data for the public.
Item 3		Any Other Business
11.	There being no other business, the meeting was adjourned at 4:50 p.m.

Antiquities and Monuments Office
Leisure and Cultural Services Department
September 2006

Ref: LCS AM 22/3

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