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The Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Leisure and Cultural Building, which has been honoured with several architecture awards, was officially opened today (July 12). With its various leisure and cultural facilities ranging from a library to a sports centre and a swimming pool, the Building provides a quality venue for residents in Tin Shui Wai to relax and engage in sports.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Building, the Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, said the population of Yuen Long District has been increasing. The completion of new Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Leisure and Cultural Building demonstrates the efforts made by the Government to strive for further enhancement in community facilities.
Mr Tsang attributed the successful development of the Building to the concerted efforts of local organisations and the Government. He expressed gratitude to the Yuen Long District Council and local organisations for their valuable advice on the planning and construction of the project and hoped to maintain close co-operation with the District Council to provide better community facilities for local residents.
The opening ceremony was one of the events under the "Vibrant Hong Kong" theme of the city-wide "Hong Kong: Our Home" Campaign. Other officiating guests at the ceremony were the Chairman of the Yuen Long District Council, Mr Leung Che-cheung; the Chairman of the Public Libraries Advisory Committee, Professor John Leong; the acting Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mr Bobby Cheng; the District Officer (Yuen Long), Mr Edward Mak; Project Director of the Architectural Services Department, Mrs Alice Yu; the Chairman of the District Facilities Management Committee of the Yuen Long District Council, Mr Lee Yuet-man; and the Chairman of the Ping Shan Heung Rural Committee, Mr Tsang Shu-wo.
Adjacent to the declared monument Tsui Sing Lau Pagoda on the Ping Shan Heritage Trail, the Building occupies an area of over 5 400 square metres and was built at a cost of about $580 million. It consists of two blocks. The High Block is a public library, with an adult library, a children's library, a reference library, a young adult library, a students' study room and an exhibition hall. The Low Block houses a swimming pool and a sports centre, providing facilities including an arena, activity rooms and a children's playroom.
The Building was designed and built by the Architectural Services Department. Its unique design has won several architecture awards, including the Hong Kong Institute of Architects Medal of the Year of Hong Kong 2011 and the Grand Award in the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers' Structural Excellence Award 2012 (Hong Kong Projects). Inspired by the traditional architectural elements of Ping Shan in Yuen Long District, the architects made use of older building materials like bricks, fair-faced concrete, wooden screens, iron netting and rusty iron to cultivate an air of simplicity and nurture a style of tradition fusing with modernity. The crisscrossing staircases, the open space of the atrium and the surrounding curtain wall allow natural light into the whole building. This, coupled with the flower beds on various floors and the green roof on the sixth floor, creates a relaxing environment for reading.
The eight-storey Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Public Library in the High Block is the second largest public library in Hong Kong and also the first public library where people can enjoy reading in an outdoor courtyard. The library provides diverse services and facilities, including a young adult library, a children's library, an adult library, a multimedia library, a reference library and a computer and information centre. There is also a user education hall, an exhibition hall, a students' study room with 228 seats, a newspaper and periodical section, a fiction area, an extension activities room, a coffee corner and a health corner.
The library has an initial stock of about 270 000 Chinese and English books, over 30 000 reference materials and over 15 000 multimedia materials. Various extension activities are organised on a regular basis to promote reading among the public. Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Public Library opens from 9am to 8pm from Mondays to Wednesdays and from Fridays to Saturdays, from noon to 8pm on Thursdays, and from 9am to 5pm on Sundays and public holidays.
Located on the ground and first floors of the Low Block, Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Swimming Pool is the first indoor swimming venue in Yuen Long with a standard training pool measuring 25 metres x 25m, providing all-weather swimming facilities to people in the district. It offers a family changing room as well as barrier-free passageways, changing rooms and washrooms for people with disabilities. The pool provides heated swimming facilities in winter (i.e. November to March), allowing the public to enjoy swimming all year round.
On the first to fourth floors of the Low Block, Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Sports Centre boasts a wide variety of recreational and sports facilities. The arena can be used for basketball, volleyball and badminton games as well as holding large-scale activities while other facilities such as a table-tennis room, multi-purpose activity rooms and a children's playroom can cater for people of all ages and interests.
The Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Leisure and Cultural Building is located at 1 Tsui Sing Road, Tin Shui Wai. Members of the public can go there by taking MTR West Rail Line or Light Rail and getting off at Tin Shui Wai Station. It is also accessible by other public transport including various bus and green minibus routes.
For enquiries and details of the facilities in the Building, please contact the venue staff: library (2126 7520); swimming pool (2856 2244) and sports centre (2350 9455).
Ends/Friday, July 12, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:14
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