Conserve and Revitalise Hong Kong Heritage - Hong Kong Baptist University Chinese Medicine and Healthcare Centre

Lui Seng Chun

Presentation by Hong Kong Baptist University on 17 February 2009
Capital cost: About $ 24.8 million
Government subsidy required for operation of social enterprise: About $ 2.6 million

To establish a Chinese medicine and healthcare centre with a view to:

Conserving the heritage and architectural merits of Lui Seng Chun;
Providing diversified Chinese medical healthcare services to the local community;
Enhancing Chinese medical knowledge of the public and training up talents of Chinese medicine; and
Turning Lui Seng Chun into a unique tourist spot, and a historical and cultural landmark.

The project will:

Revitalise Lui Seng Chun as a Chinese medicine and healthcare centre which can reflect the original use of the building;
Restore the architectural merits of the building as far as possible;
Set up exhibition space to display the history of the building and also various Chinese medicines; and
Arrange a guided tour to introduce to the visitors the history of Lui Seng Chun.

The building is at the junction of Lai Chi Kok Road and Tong Mi Road and suffers from serious noise problem. The building will be installed with glass window glazings to solve the noise problem without compromising the authenticity of the building.
The area on each floor is quite small. The project will make good use of the verandah as waiting and exhibition areas and use the internal parts as the consultation rooms to protect patients' privacy.
The project will as far as possible re-use and re-install the floor tiles and other original materials to restore the original look of the building.
The project will build a passenger lift, additional staircases and other communal services at the internal part and backyard of the building respectively to meet modern-day building code and to keep the original architectural merits.

The project will:

Provide good Chinese medicine and healthcare services, in particular to the local community and promote Chinese medicines;
Attract new visitors to the district and help bring new energy to local economy;
Achieve synergy between Chinese medicine service and heritage; and
Engage the local residents through organising Chinese medicine festivals, exhibitions, health talks and offering free and concessionary medical consultations.

The Hong Kong Baptist University is the first university to offer higher education in Chinese medicine in Hong Kong. It established its first Chinese medicine clinic in 1997 and started to offer the degree program of Chinese medicine in 1998.
It provides a wide range of services, including teaching, research and clinical service with an aim of advancing Chinese medicine into the international arena.
It has been running four Chinese medicine clinics itself and four others in collaboration with the Hospital Authority. It is also experienced in revitalising historic buildings, for example, converting the Ex. Royal Air Force Station, a Grade I historic building into its Academy of Visual Arts, and the decommissioned Shek Kip Mei Factory Estate into the Jockey Club Creative Arts Centre.