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Cheung Ancestral Hall in Shan Ha Tsuen, Yuen Long is today (Thursday) gazetted a historical building under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.

Cheung Ancestral Hall was built by Cheung Bing-nam, Cheung Chi-kwong, Cheung Yiu-fong and Cheung Shui-yat of the twenty-second generation of the clan in the twentieth year of Jiaqing(1815).

The ancestral hall is used as a centre for communal gatherings and a place for ancestral worship. It was also once used as a primary school for educating members of the clan from the 1930s to 1950s. Tuition was also provided to young girls in the ancestral hall but was given only at night. With the completion of the Wah Fung Primary School which was built by the clan near Lam Hau Tsuen in 1958, the previous principal office at the left chamber of the entrance hall of the ancestral hall was then vacated and converted into the temporary office of the village committee for about 10 years. The left aisle was used as a kitchen whereas the right aisle is now used for storage.

The ancestral hall is a two-hall green-brick structure with an open courtyard in between and aisles on both sides. Above the main entrance is a stone slab engraved with Chinese characters meaning "The Cheung Ancestral Hall". Elaborated frescos and mouldings were added to the front facade by the clan during the recent renovation carried out by themselves.

An ancestral shrine decorated with the "Eight Immortals" reflects the superb craftsmanship of the olden days. The soul tablet of Cheung Gau-ling, a Prime Minister in the Tang dynasty, is placed on the top level of the ancestral shrine, who was regarded as the ancestor of the Cheung clan in both Shan Ha Tsuen and Dongguan.

A full restoration of Cheung Ancestral Hall was undertaken by the Architectural Services Department and monitored by the Antiquities and Monuments Office of the Home Affairs Bureau from mid-1998 to late 1999.

A rehabilitation ceremony was held on December 19, 1999 to celebrate the completion of the restoration.

End/Thursday, December 30, 1999

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