Hong Kong Park - Background

Educational Programme and Guided Tour Service

Hong Kong Park, covers an area of 8 hectares, is officially opened in May 1991. The present site of the Park was originally a garrison named Victoria Barracks. In 1979, the Government decided that the portion of the garrison near the foot of the hill should be used for commercial development and construction of government buildings while the mid-level portion be jointly developed by the former Urban Council and the former Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club for the provision of a park. The project was undertaken at a cost of $398 million.

The Park has preserved a number of garrison buildings built between 1842 and 1910. The buildings included the formerly residence of the Commander-in-Chief of the British Armed Forces known as the Flagstaff House (currently accommodating the Flagstaff House Museum of Teaware), the Rawlinson House (currently accommodating the Park Management Office and the Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry), the Wavell House (currently accommodating the Education Centre) and the Cassels Block (currently accommodating the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre).

At the centre of the Park, visitors can see an artificial lake and a waterfall, which were built on the site of a tennis court of the former garrison. Walking along the lakeside path and up the steps in the direction of Central, visitors will find the Olympic Square, the Park Management Office and the Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry. In the central part of the Park, two modernised major facilities, namely the Conservatory and the Aviary, were built on the hillside adjacent to the Tai Chi Garden and the Vantage Point. They form a distinctive architectural complex in the Park.

Flagstaff House (currently accommodating the Flagstaff House Museum of Teaware)

Flagstaff House Museum of Teaware (2007)

Rawlinson House (currently accommodating the Park Management Office and the Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry)

Rawlinson House was built in the 1900s as two Warrant Officer's Married Quarters. These were combined in the 1960s to provide a residence for the Chief of Staff, who was also Deputy Commander British Forces. The building was preserved in the development stage in the 1980s. The Ground Floor has been turned into Cotton Tree Drive Marriage Registry and the First Floor is now being used as the Park Management Office.