The sports facilities and other amenities in Hong Kong’s 18 districts comprise 41 gazetted beaches, 41 swimming pools, two outdoor stadia (Hong Kong Stadium and Mong Kok Stadium), 48 natural turf soccer pitches, 29 artificial turf soccer pitches, 230 hard-surface soccer pitches, two hockey pitches, two rugby pitches, 93 sports centres, 290 squash courts, 25 sports grounds, 256 tennis courts, four golf driving ranges, five water sports centres, four holiday camps, 25 major parks and 697 children’s playgrounds. These leisure facilities cover a total area of 2 360 hectares.
The new Beach Volleyball cum Handball Court in Kwai Chung Sports Ground is the first of its kind in Kwai Tsing District. The court, which opened in January 2011, comprises a flood-lit sand court of 33 metres x 20 metres, a covered spectator stand with a seating capacity of about 240, and other ancillary facilities. Suitable for training and large-scale beach sports events, this court is the designated National Squad Training Centre for the Hong Kong Beach Handball Team and is frequently used by the Volleyball Association of Hong Kong for training and competition.
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A major redevelopment project has elevated Mong Kok Stadium to international standards, making it an ideal venue for top-level football matches and training sessions for Hong Kong football representative teams. |
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On Lok Mun Street Playground (skateboard ground), which opened in November 2011, is the largest skating park in Hong Kong. The playground covers 2 204 square metres including 1 330 square metres of play area. Suitable for advanced skateboard players and national training, it has skateboarding equipment/structures conforming to relevant safety standards, including three bowls, eight platforms, two ramps and three play rails and a spectator stand with a rain shelter and seating.
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A teenager tries his skateboard skills on Xtreme Games day. |
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The archery range at Ngau Chi Wan Park in Wong Tai Sin is the first purpose-built natural turf archery range. The 5 500-square-metre range, featuring 11 archery lanes with a shooting distance up to 90 metres, is suitable for training and tournaments. The covered corridor along the shooting line permits archery on rainy days, while floodlights allow evening action.
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Covering an area of about four hectares on a restored landfill, Ngau Chi Wan Park features green themes. |
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Phase II of Po Kong Village Road Park in Diamond Hill, spanning about 4.5 hectares, opened in January 2012. Apart from passive amenities, children’s play areas, fitness corner and other ancillary facilities, it provides a wide range of cycling facilities, including an elevated cycling track of about one kilometre, cycling area for beginners and a BMX area. Facilities are free for cyclists of all ages and different skill levels.
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Po Kong Village Road Park provides a wide range of facilities for cyclists of all ages and skill levels, including an elevated track about one kilometre long, a cycling area for beginners and a BMX area.
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The LCSD manages about 1 540 parks and gardens of different sizes, including the following major parks:
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Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park in Sai Ying Pun commemorates the contributions of the Father of Modern China.
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Tamar Park, adjacent to the new Central Government Offices and the Legislative Council Complex, covers an area of around 2.18 hectares. The park was opened in phases to the public since October 2011. With a landscaped garden, water features, a floating platform, an amphitheatre, Tamar Corner and Tamar Café, the spacious green lawns provide open space and broad views of Victoria Harbour.
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With beautiful views of Victoria Harbour, Tamar Park offers a respite from busy city life. |
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Hong Kong Park, covering 8.16 hectares, opened in May 1991 on the former Victoria Barracks site. Major attractions there include a conservatory, aviary, squash centre, sports centre and children’s playground, as well as a vantage point, a restaurant and Olympic Square.
The aviary, designed to simulate a tropical rainforest, is home to about 600 birds of 80 different species. Several of these species successfully reared offspring during the year, namely the Bali Mynah, Java Sparrow, Crested Pigeon, Green Imperial Pigeon, Zebra Dove, Nicobar Pigeon and the Rainbow Lorikeet. The conservatory comprises a Display Plant House, a Dry Plant House and a Humid Plant House with environmental controls simulating different climatic conditions for plants from arid and tropical regions. From July to November 2011, the Plant Display House exhibited over 100 potted orchids.
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Visitors can enjoy a close encounter with 600 birds indigenous to Malesia on the elevated walkway in the Edward Youde Aviary at Hong Kong Park.
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Victoria Park, which opened in October 1957, is one of the most popular in Hong Kong. Apart from serving as an attractive venue for sports and leisure, the 19.3-hectare park is a popular place for community events, such as the annual Lunar New Year Fair, the Hong Kong Flower Show and the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival, which draw hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
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The New Year fair at Victoria Park on the eve of the Lunar New Year attracted thousands.
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The 13.3-hectare Kowloon Park, which served as a military camp during the 1860s, was converted into an urban park in 1970. Redeveloped by the former Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club, the park took its present shape in 1989. Located in the heart of Tsim Sha Tsui, it is the largest park in Kowloon and provides an 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 can take about 1 460 swimmers. The average annual attendance in the past three years exceeded 800 000. One of the best-equipped swimming pools in Hong Kong, it is a major training and competition venue for many international aquatic events. In December 2009, for example, the Kowloon Park Swimming Pool was a venue for the aquatic events of the 2009 East Asian Games in Hong Kong.
Apart from sports facilities, the park has a number of gardens and walks. The Garden of Life was unveiled in November 2011 in acknowledgement of organ donors and their families. With special landscape design and architecture, the garden echoes the organ donation theme ‘Light Up Lives’.
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 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 on Sundays and/or public holidays. Regular bird watching activities are organised in the mornings to introduce the public to the common bird species in the park. District-wide community events such as carnivals, outdoor exhibitions and entertainment events are regularly held at the piazza, attracting hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists.
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The Arts Fun Fair at Kowloon Park, featuring stalls displaying and selling handicrafts and artworks, including paper craft, carvings, accessories, as well as calligraphy, painting and silhouette sketching, draws all kinds of enthusiasts.
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The 22-hectare Tai Po Waterfront Park is the largest park managed by the LCSD. Its 32-metre-tall Spiral Lookout Tower offers visitors a panoramic view of Tolo Harbour and surroundings. Other facilities include a 1 000-metre promenade, an insect house, an amphitheatre, a central water feature, a sheltered viewing terrace, children’s play areas, bowling greens, a gateball court, kite flying area 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.
Tuen Mun Park was the first major park in the New Territories to provide a wide range of facilities. Phases I, II and III opened to the public in 1985, 1988 and 1991, respectively.
Built on reclaimed land, this 12.5-hectare park has more than 2 000 trees and 120 000 shrubs of various species. The one-hectare artificial lake is a popular spot, as is the Reptile House, which attracts 330 000 visitors annually, including 46 000 group visitors.
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, a sitting-out area for the elderly, four pebble walking trails, pavilions and a multi-game area.
With the increasing number of dog owners in Hong Kong, the department has been opening more pet gardens. At present, 28 leisure venues managed by the department have pet gardens. The LCSD, in consultation with District Councils, will continue to identify suitable sites to build more pet gardens.
Equipment in most playgrounds managed by the department is suitable for all children, including those with disabilities. Last year, the department installed large ‘inclusive’ play areas for children in Laguna Park, Ping Shek Playground and Sha Tin Park. Such play apparatus provides barrier-free access while their integrated design promotes harmony and inclusiveness among children. The department will continue to provide more such facilities.
To enhance the appeal of parks and make visitors feel more relaxed, the LCSD implements projects under the 'Park Déco' in selected parks, with creative park furniture and signage carrying friendly advice and positive messages. The first project, launched at Quarry Bay Park in May 2011, featured three sets of new park furniture and a new signage system under the theme ‘Oasis along the Seashore’. A launch ceremony was held on May 12, 2011 at the Park. The second project is being implemented at Cornwall Street Park and that is expected to be completed by August 2012.
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Designers involved in the Park Deco Scheme try the Urbanmat at the newly renovated Cornwall Street Park.
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Design parameters, to be drawn up after this project is completed, will serve as a reference for the department’s existing parks and future park projects.
Hong Kong people made more than 11.37 million visits to beaches and 9.74 million visits to public swimming pools managed by the department in 2011-12. Four new swimming pool complexes － Tung Chung Swimming Pool, Siu Sai Wan Swimming Pool, Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Swimming Pool and Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Swimming Pool － opened during the year. The renovated Kennedy Town Swimming Pool opened in May 2011.
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The unique new Kennedy Town Swimming Pool offers a fabulous view of Victoria Harbour.
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Four beaches in Tsuen Wan － Lido Beach, Casam Beach, Approach Beach and Hoi Mei Wan Beach － reopened for swimming in June 2011, following an improvement in water quality. Water quality of the other three beaches in Tsuen Wan － Anglers’ Beach, Gemini Beaches and Ting Kau Beach － has also improved. They will be reopened upon completion of the necessary improvement works.
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Many people gathered to display their creativity at the Sai Kung Beach Carnival cum Sai Kung District Sand Sculpture Competition 2011, held at Clear Water Bay Second Beach.
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Swimming is a popular sport among the elderly and other age groups. The department introduced a Public Swimming-pool Monthly Ticket Scheme in early July 2012 to alleviate the financial burden of regular swimmers especially the elderly and to promote regular swimming among the public.
The department co-organised a series of campaigns and activities in collaboration with the Hong Kong Life Saving Society and other relevant departments to promote water sports safety.
To keep our public swimming pools clean, the department organised a cleaning campaign for children aged 11 and below as well as their parents.
During the year, automated external defibrillators (AEDs) were installed in all public swimming pools, beaches and water sports centres to upgrade lifesaving equipment and enhance first aid. The department is also planning to install AEDs in major recreational and cultural venues and at sports centres.
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New lifeguard recruits who have completed all lifesaving induction courses demonstrate their first aid skills at the Lifeguard Lifesaving Passing Out Parade and Major Drill cum Water Safety Award Presentation Ceremony.
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Winners of the Slogan Design Competition and Poster Design Competition of the 2011 Water Safety Campaign pose with their championship certificates.
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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, Sai Kung Outdoor Recreation Centre, Tso Kung Tam Outdoor Recreation Centre and Lei Yue Mun Park and Holiday Village). During the year, 128 000 people participated in programmes in these centres, while 554 056 enjoyed the facilities at holiday camps. The department also organises evening camps to allow more people to participate after office hours. A total of 40 522 people took part in these programmes in 2011-12.
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Residential campers enjoyed a variety of programmes and recreational activities at the Lady MacLehose Holiday Village.
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Hong Kong Stadium, with a capacity of 40 000, is a major venue for sports and community events. During the year, 36 events were held there, attracting a combined audience of 347 000. Major events included: Barclays Asia Trophy 2011: invitation football matches between Chelsea, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers from England and Kitchee from Hong Kong; Nikon Asian Challenge Cup 2012; the famous Hong Kong Sevens; and other football and community events.
The Mong Kok Stadium was closed in September 2009 for major redevelopment. The redeveloped stadium, with a better spectator stand offering 6 664 seats, hosted its first football match on October 16, 2011. The highlight of the official reopening ceremony was a friendly international football match between the Hong Kong Youth Representative Team and the Russian National Youth Team on November 15, 2011. The event drew a near full house of football fans.
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The Mong Kok Stadium drew a capacity crowd of enthusiastic fans during the first international friendly football match.
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By the end of March 2012, we had set up 281 Work Improvement Teams in district leisure venues to carry out self-initiated and departmental improvements. Given the success of this scheme, the department will continue to support these teams at all major leisure venues, including sports centres, swimming pools, beaches, parks and playgrounds.
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 from September 1 to June 30 of the following year. Eligible organisations include schools, National Sports Associations, district sports associations and subvented non-governmental organisations.
The Leisure Link System, which enables the public to book leisure facilities and enrol in community recreation and sports programmes online, over the telephone or at booking counters throughout the territory, was launched in 2002. To enhance these services and to tie in with the Government’s promotion of electronic services, the department launched self-service kiosks in March 2008. They allow people to quickly book leisure facilities or enrol in programmes with their Smart Identity Cards, paying with Octopus. Currently there are self-service kiosks at 47 LCSD venues, including nine on Hong Kong Island, 15 in Kowloon and 23 in the New Territories.
Counter services were provided at 155 recreational venues, enabling the public to book facilities, enrol in recreational programmes and get help with facilities and sports programmes at the venues.
The department provides National Squad Training Centres for 38 associations, encouraging them to use LCSD facilities and provide more training opportunities for national squads and athletes.
