| The Six Arts Terrace at Kowloon Walled City Park is a place of tranquil beauty, ideal for traditional Chinese wedding ceremonies and receptions. |
Recreational and Sports Facilities
The sports facilities and other amenities in Hong Kong's 18 districts comprise 41 gazetted beaches, 37 swimming pools, two outdoor stadia (Hong Kong Stadium and Mong Kok Stadium), 48 natural turf pitches, 24 artificial turf pitches, 233 hard-surface soccer pitches, two hockey pitches, two rugby pitches, 89 sports centres, 290 squash courts, 25 sports grounds, 260 tennis courts, four golf driving ranges, five water sports centres, four holiday camps, 24 major parks and 684 children's playgrounds. These leisure facilities cover a total area of 2 350 hectares.
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Parks
The LCSD manages more than 1 510 parks and gardens of different sizes, including the following major parks.
Hong Kong Park
Hong Kong Park, which covers an area of 8.16 hectares, was officially opened in May 1991 on the former Victoria Barracks garrison site. The Park's major facilities include an aviary, a conservatory, a vantage point, Olympic Square, a squash centre, a sports centre, a children's playground and a restaurant.
The aviary is designed to simulate a tropical rainforest and is home to about 600 birds of 80 different species. Several of these species successfully reared broods during the year, namely, the Java Sparrow, the Bali Mynah and the Rainbow Lorikeet.
The conservatory comprises a Display Plant House, a Dry Plant House and a Humid Plant House with environmental controls that simulate different climatic conditions for plants from arid and tropical regions. In May 2009, Hong Kong Park was voted the 'Best Garden in Hong Kong' by open polling in the 'The Best of Hong Kong Awards'.
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In 2009-10, the Hong Kong 2009 East Asian Games (EAG) Flag Raising Ceremony was held at Olympic Square, and a squash competition at the Hong Kong Squash Centre and Hong Kong Park Sports Centre. The Christmas floral art exhibition staged in December 2009 attracted an aggregate attendance of about 24 000.
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Victoria Park
Victoria Park, which is named after Queen Victoria and features a statue of her, was commissioned in October 1957. Open to the public for more than half a century, this 19.3-hectare park remains one of the most popular in Hong Kong.
In addition to providing the public with an attractive venue that meets its sporting and leisure needs, the Park is a popular location for community events, such as the annual Lunar New Year Fair, the Hong Kong Flower Show and the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival, which attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
Kowloon Park
The 13.3-hectare Kowloon Park, which served as an encampment during the 1860s, was converted into a park in 1970. It was redeveloped by the former Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club and took its present form in 1989. Conveniently located in the centre of Tsim Sha Tsui, the Park is the largest in Kowloon and provides a wide array of indoor and outdoor recreational facilities, including a hard-surface soccer pitch, a sports centre and a swimming pool complex.
Occupying an area of about three hectares, the Kowloon Park Swimming Pool has a maximum admission capacity of 1 469 swimmers, and the average annual attendance in the past three years exceeded 800 000. As one of the best-equipped swimming pools in Hong Kong, it is a major training and competition venue for numerous international aquatic events. In December 2009, for example, the Kowloon Park Swimming Pool was designated as a competition venue for the aquatic events of the Hong Kong 2009 EAG.
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In addition to these opportunities for active physical exercise, the Park also offers a number of gardens and walks. The Sculpture Walk features permanent and temporary displays by both local and overseas artists, including the Concept of Newton, a permanent sculpture by Eduardo Paolozzi. A 240-metre-long tree walk features 35 of Hong Kong's most common flowering species.
Another significant attraction is the landscaped bird lake and aviary with its collection of more than 100 flamingos and many other species of birds.
The Park hosts a number of major events throughout the year, including Kung Fu Corner and the Arts Fun Fair, which are held on Sundays and/or public holidays. Regular bird watching activities are organised in the mornings to introduce the public to the common bird species found in the Park, and district-wide community events such as carnivals, outdoor exhibitions and entertainment events are regularly held at the piazza. These activities attract hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists.
Nan Lian Garden
Open to the public since 2006, Nan Lian Garden is 3.5 hectares in size and situated in the midst of urban hustle and bustle. The Garden, which was designed in the Tang Dynasty style, is a classical landscaped garden based on the blueprints of Jiangshouju Garden in Shanxi Province. Thousands of trees and shrubs, including rare and precious species, are planted throughout the Garden, which also boasts rocks, hillocks and water features that blend harmoniously with timber structures in the Tang architectural style, such as pavilions, verandas and gates.
Tai Po Waterfront Park
The 22-hectare Tai Po Waterfront Park is the largest park managed by the LCSD.
The Park's 32-metre-tall lookout tower affords visitors a panoramic view of Tolo Harbour and its surroundings. Other facilities include a 1 000-metre-long promenade, an insect house, an amphitheatre, a central water feature, a sheltered viewing terrace, children's play areas, bowling greens, a gateball court and different theme gardens, such as a Floral Display, Scented Garden, Malvaceae Garden, Western Garden, Ecological Garden, Palm Garden, Herb Garden, Fig Garden and Camellia Garden.
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Tuen Mun Park
Tuen Mun Park was the first major park in the New Territories to provide a wide range of facilities. Phases I, II and III were opened to the public in 1985, 1988 and 1991, respectively.
Built on reclaimed land, this 12.5-hectare Park provides a mass of greenery, with more than 2 500 trees and 120 000 shrubs of various species, for the enjoyment of Tuen Mun residents and visitors from all over the territory.
Its nearly one-hectare artificial lake is a popular spot, as is the Reptile House, which attracts annual patronage of more than 360 000, including 49 000 group visitors.
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Other facilities include a water cascade, a model boat pool, an amphitheatre, a roller-skating rink, three children's playgrounds, a fast food kiosk, a conservation corner, an elderly sitting-out area, four pebble walking trails, pavilions and a multi-game area.
Yuen Long Park
Open to the public since early 1991, Yuen Long Park is located on 7.5 hectares of natural woodland with more than 1 000 trees, including two native Yanmin ----- large evergreen trees.
A hilltop pagoda features an aviary on its lower level and an upper level that serves as a viewing point for visitors. The Park's exquisite ravine garden includes a small footbridge, a stream, an artificial lake and a cascade.
Other of the Park's features are a Conservation Corner that promotes the conservation of wild birds, butterflies and dragonflies, a turf gateball court, football pitches, a children's playground, a fitness trail, two pebble walking trails and a fountain plaza.
Beaches and Swimming Pools
Swimming is one of the most popular summer pastimes in Hong Kong, with more than 19.16 million visits made to the beaches (10.28 million) and public swimming pools (8.88 million) managed by the Department in 2009-10.
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To promote water sports safety, the Department co-organised a series of campaigns and activities in collaboration with the Hong Kong Life Saving Society and the other departments concerned during the course of the year.
To keep Hong Kong's public swimming pools clean, the Department has organised a cleaning campaign targeted at children aged 11 and below and their parents.
Water Sports Centres and Holiday Camps
The LCSD manages five water sports centres (Chong Hing, Stanley Main Beach, St Stephen's Beach, Tai Mei Tuk and Wong Shek) and four holiday camps (the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village [LMHV], Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre, Tso Kung Tam Outdoor Recreation Centre, and Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village [LYMP]). During the year, 118 580 people participated in the water sports programmes offered at the former, and 420 096 enjoyed the facilities at the latter. The Department also provides evening camp programmes to allow more people to enjoy camping facilities after office hours, with 34 743 individuals taking part in these programmes in 2009-10.
During the outbreak of Human Swine Influenza (HSI) in May 2009, both the LMHV and LYMP were reserved by the Government for contingency use (e.g., as quarantine centres) to prevent the spread of the disease. The LMHV was used for this purpose from May 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010, and the LYMP from May 1 to July 26, 2009. The former accommodated 313 quarantined guests over the period, whilst the latter housed three quarantined guests and 51 DOC guests (subject to directly observed chemoprophylaxis [DOC] plus medical surveillance [MS]).
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Hong Kong Stadium
Renowned for staging international events, Hong Kong Stadium has a maximum seating capacity of 40 000 and is the largest outdoor multi-purpose entertainment and sports venue in Hong Kong. During the year, 41 events were held at the Stadium, attracting an aggregate audience of 431 000. The major events included the Invitation Cup: South China vs. Tottenham Hotspur, the AFC Cup Semi-Finals: South China vs. Kuwait SC, the Hong Kong 2009 EAG, and other football and rugby events, including the Hong Kong Sevens 2010.
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Venue Management Initiatives and Improvements
Work Improvement Teams
By the end of March 2010, 267 Work Improvement Teams had been set up in district leisure venues to implement self-initiated and departmental improvements.
In view of the success of these Teams, the Department will continue to support them at all major leisure venues, including sports centres, swimming pools, beaches, parks and playgrounds.
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Free Use Scheme
The Free Use Scheme aims to maximise the use of recreational facilities by allowing eligible organisations free access to the main arenas and activity rooms of all sports centres, squash courts, hockey pitches, outdoor bowling greens and obstacle golf courses during non-peak hours. Eligible organisations include schools, National Sports Associations (NSAs), district sports associations and subvented non-governmental organisations.
LCSD Leisure Link
Leisure Link Services, which enable the public to book leisure facilities and enrol in community recreation and sports programmes online, over the telephone or at booking counters located throughout the territory, were launched in 2002. To further enhance the efficiency and quality of these booking services, and to tie in with the Government's promotion of electronic services, the Department also launched self-service kiosks in March 2008.
These self-service kiosks allow members of the public to book leisure facilities or enrol in programmes simply and quickly by using their Smart Identity Cards and paying by Octopus card. There are currently self-service kiosks at 47 LCSD venues, including nine on Hong Kong Island, 14 in Kowloon and 24 in the New Territories.
A counter service has been fully implemented at 152 recreational venues, enabling the public to book facilities, register and pay for recreational programmes, and obtain advice and assistance on facility usage and sports programming at the same venue.
Facilities for NSAs
The Department provides 38 NSAs with National Squad Training Centres to train athletes. This arrangement encourages these associations to use LCSD facilities and provides more training opportunities for national squads and athletes.
