Wong Fook Yee | A Milestone in the History of Country Parks

Professor Wong Fook Yee—Q&A of Lung Fu Shan Country Park

Professor Wong Fook Yee, former assistant director of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, classified Lung Fu Shan as a country park when in office. In just 20 short years, his choice turned the previously unmanaged Lung Fu Shan into the backyard of Hong Kong Island we see now, covered in lustrous greens and with rich biodiversity.

Q: Where did the name Lung Fu Shan come from?

Lung Fu Shan was originally named Hill Above Belcher’s. Belcher for the British naval officer Sir Edward Belcher; he arrived Hong Kong in 1841 and was the first to draw maps for Hong Kong island and nearby seas. Many places in the Hong Kong Island were named after him: Belcher Bay, Belcher’s Street and The Belcher’s. Therefore the hill behind these places—Lung Fu Shan—was named “Hill Above Belcher’s”. The hill originally had no Chinese name, Lung Fu Shan was later named by a local journalist.

(left) Sir Edward Belcher (right) Hong Kong map drawn by Sir Belcher after surveying Hong Kong Island in 1841

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Q: What part does the Lung Fu Shan Country Park play in the local conservation scene?

Before being classified as a country park, many hikers ‘cultivated’ land on Lung Fu Shan, many areas were wrecked; there were few animals residing in the hill that looked far from visually pleasing. The Pok Fu Lam Country Park is made up of two separate lands, Lung Fu Shan just so happened to be in the middle of the two; classifying it as a country park connect Pok Fu Lam, extending to Aberdeen and Tai Tam Country Park. The entire countryside of Hong Kong Island become continuous, allowing animals to freely move around the bigger area.

Distribution map of country parks in Hong Kong Island (credit: AFCD) 23 – Lung Fu Shan 19 – Pok Fu Lam 4 – Aberdeen 5 – Tai Tam 18 – Shek O 20 – Tai Tam (Quarry Bay extension) Click here for the full Hong Kong Country Park and Special Areas distributions

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Q: From 1976 when the Country Parks Ordinance was put in place, 21 country parks came into existence in 1977-1979. If Lung Fu Shan has such importance in conservation, why was it not listed as a country park?

There was the Pinewood Battery on Lung Fu Shan, the battery was already managed by the Urban Council (now Leisure and Cultural Services Department) in a way similar to urban parks. As setting up country parks then was aimed at conserving the environment in unprotected areas, Lung Fu Shan was not included in the 21 parks.

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Q: What was Lung Fu Shan like before becoming a country park?

Lung Fu Shan is situated near the urban areas, many morning hikers meet their friends to drink tea and play mahjong; they would huddle together for a game of mahjong and a meal together. Some would even bring statues of deities and furniture no longer used at home up on the hill, really “making themselves at home”. But later the friendly nature changed, some built temples and charged passerby fees for passing, and some cultivated lands without permission.

The “cement buddha” constructed by morning hikers before the country park was established; up till now hikers still present flowers to it

Guan Hoi Temple (觀海寺) now demolished Q: What methods were used to encourage the morning hikers who “owned” land to leave?

The situation then was akin to a negotiation, we put forward taking down their constructions and moving their furniture, but promised to build a pavilion for them in place of it. Some hikers wanted to bring seeds to sow on the slopes, yet it would not be possible to plant in random areas in a country park, so special areas were dedicated for their planting. Some were used to chatting over tea with friends, so we built a stove for them to boil water… Lung Fu Shan is the only country park with these sorts of facilities. As for people who wanted to set up a buddha statue… This we had no choice but to turn them down.

Lung Fu Shan is the only country park with a stove for tea (see right side of picture)

Lung Fu Shan has more facilities like cloth hangers, pebble paths for hikers to enjoy than any other country parks

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Q: Pik Shan Path—the path with historical water facilities, and the main area of the Lung Fu Shan Morning Trail: Hatton Road were both excluded from the country park area. Why?

From the old maps, it can be seen that Pik Shan path is a conduit, managed by the Drainage Services Department, not suitable to be included in the country park area. As Hatton Road is used by many vehicles, the road has street lights installed, with construction vehicles using the road as well, therefore managed by the Lands Department. Here’s a tip to identify roads in country parks: they never have street lights—if it has, the road is managed by another department.

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Q: The Pinewood Battery was monitored by the Urban Council as an urban park, how different is the management methods now that it is a country park?

The difference is huge! Taking pavilion 16 in Hatton road and the opposite public toilet as examples, they are still under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department; even if it is in the countryside, you can see the fences outside the toilet are unusually dense, the color of the paint is also mismatched with the environment. As for the pavilion, it has a set of couplets—that’s the District Council’s special feature. The biggest difference between urban parks and country parks is that the former does not allow dogs. If you pay attention, at the edge of the country park facing the exit, there would be a sign saying "Leash Your Large Dog.” The signs cannot be seen when you enter the park, or when you are inside the park—that is because dogs are free to roam within country parks. Only when you leave the park and enter the urban area would you need to keep the dogs on a tighter leash.

The urban park on Hatton Road under the LSCD’s management—in the countryside, yet restricting dogs’ entrance.

Pavilion 16 with lavish design and a couplet, constructed by the District Council