A Tale of Two Houses

For some years the Hong Kong government has been acquiring and renovating grand houses built in the first half of the 20^th century by the first Chinese entrepreneurs and merchants to accumulate sufficient wealth and status to compete effectively with the colonial worthies on their own terms – at least as far as domestic arrangements went.

King Yin Lei was built in 1937 for a Mrs Shum, and sold on in 1978 and 2007. The house looks spectacular from the outside, a blend of the best of traditional Chinese and Western styles, and employing advanced - for that time - building techniques such as beams and columns of concrete and a lightning protection system. The style is referred to as 'Chinese Renaissance.'

However, this being Hong Kong, architectural merit does not always guarantee protection from demolition and in 2007 the stripping of glazed roof tiles and decorative fittings took place. Fortunately, there was a public outcry that led to the government taking steps to have the building declared a protected monument. The owner eventually agreed to fund and carry out restoration of the house (under government experts' supervision) in exchange for an adjacent empty plot of land of equal size.

Because the fabric of the house had deteriorated badly the restoration was a huge task, taking over two years. In addition to glazed roof tiles, the team had to produce plaster moulding, mosaic floor tiles, cement tiles, marble tiles, teak flooring and terrazzo. To source the materials they had to search across mainland China – and in some cases there were no skilled craftsmen available so the team had to experiment until they succeeded.

The house is situated in the Mid-Levels, marking out a Chinese-dominated upper-class residential area, and is well known in the city from appearing in several films and tv series (including Bruce Lee's Enter The Dragon).

Quite spectacular on the outside, the inside seems cramped, smaller. Design-wise, there is much to impress and the renovation work required was extensive, based on the before-and-after photo displays. However, paradoxically, the two features that stay in my mind are the outdoor animal pens for holding animals to be killed and cooked - no popping down to the supermarket for a frozen chicken breast - and the wonderfully garish and quite over the top all-pink bathroom of Mrs Shum!

 

 

 

 

 

Kom Tong Hall was built even earlier, in 1914, and it is also a fusion of Chinese and Western styles. However, it is not so much famous for itself but rather for the use to which it has been recently put. Our bus driver did not recognise the name Kom Tong Hall when we enquired – but once we mentioned Dr Sun Yat Sen the light dawned and he was suddenly a mine of enthusiasm and information. Kom Tong Hall is now a museum to the memory of Hong Kong-educated Dr Sun Yat Sen.

 

When we arrived at the Hall a school teacher was trying to persuade her excited class to pose for a class photograph in front of the statue of Dr Sun at the entrance.

The well-preserved Kom Tong Hall was built for the wealthy Ho family who were the first Chinese family permitted to live in the Mid-Levels in the early colonial period. The two main brothers were compradores (local managers) for Jardine Matheson, the main trading house in Hong Kong. Subsequently the building was owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons) who agreed to transfer it to the government.

Photography is not permitted in the Hall. My predominant memory is of the extensive use of dark teak wood; teak staircases to each of the three floors, teak panelling for whole walls and for half the wall in many rooms. There were also quite a few stained-glass windows and floral decorative scrolls to the balustrades. The interior is vast, much larger than the exterior suggests (the opposite of King Yin Lei).

But the story of the house has been overwhelmed by the presence of Dr Sun.

Dr Sun Yat Sen is considered to be the 'Father of Modern China' and appears to be hugely respected by all Chinese, whether from the mainland, Taiwan or the Chinese diaspora. A brilliant academic, doctor of medicine, inspiring politician, author, he is remembered for his overwhelming love of China and her people that led him to fight against the corrupt Qing government and, after the 1911 revolution ended the monarchy, he founded the Republic of China. Sadly, Sun's life was marked by constant struggle and the latter part of his life was spent fighting warlords so that he did not live to see the whole of China united, dying in 1925 in Beijing.

The museum is spread over several floors, includes photographs, videos, artefacts, wax displays of prominent figures, documents, books and dozens of individual displays with narrative in both Chinese and English. It's definitely worth more than one day's detailed browsing if you hope to absorb much of the information.