Hubbry Logo
search
logo
1788930

Fanling Lodge

logo
Community Hub0 Subscribers
Write something...
Be the first to start a discussion here.
Be the first to start a discussion here.
See all
Fanling Lodge

Fanling Lodge is an official residence of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, which serves as a country house and occasionally hosts official functions. Built in 1934 as a summer residence for the then Governor of Hong Kong, Fanling Lodge was granted a Grade I historic building status in 2014, amid concerns about its inclusion within a new town development plan.

Fanling Lodge is located in the Kam Tsin area of the New Territories in Hong Kong, near Fanling and Kwu Tung. It is situated in a 2.3-hectare (5.7-acre) wooded lot within the grounds of Hong Kong Golf Club, off Castle Peak Road - Kwu Tung.

In 1932, citing the high expense for repairs and maintenance on Mountain Lodge, the summer residence of the Governor of Hong Kong on Victoria Peak, Governor Sir William Peel proposed constructing a new summer residence in Fanling. Completed in 1934, Fanling Lodge served as a weekend and holiday retreat for the Governors of Hong Kong. Mountain Lodge was eventually demolished in 1946. Fanling Lodge remained as an official government residence after the handover in 1997 and as of 2015 remains the alternate residence of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

A helicopter pad (WB16) is located on the lawn of the home and allows the Chief Executive to travel to the lodge from Government House, the main Hong Kong residence.

Tung Chee-hwa, the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong, was criticised by the Democratic Party at the end of 1997 for not using Fanling Lodge. Critics demanded that he consider giving up this government property. Since that time, the relevance of Fanling Lodge as an official residence has been questioned recurrently during Legislative Council debates. Opponents object that the provision of such a residence to the Chief Executive is an unnecessary perk, and that another use should be found for the building.

At the end of 1997, the combined upkeep cost of Fanling Lodge and Government House, both seldom used, was HK$13 million a year. About 58 domestic staff were employed to maintain the two official residences. It was reported in 2005, at the beginning of the tenure of Donald Tsang as Chief Executive, that two permanent staff were employed at Fanling Lodge. The maintenance cost incurred by the Architectural Services Department for the upkeep of the Lodge amounted to HK$856,000 for the 2010–2015 period.

Fanling Lodge was designed in 1933 by government architect Stanley Feltham of the Public Works Department of Hong Kong. Its construction was completed in 1934 at a cost of HK$140,000. It was used as a summer residence of the Governor of Hong Kong until the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during World War II. Governor Sir William Peel, who had proposed the construction of the lodge, had a keen interest in golf and horse riding, and he often made the Fanling Lodge available to the garden parties of the Fanling Hunt and Race Club, that was managing the nearby Kwanti Racecourse.

After the War, it was used as a provisional campus of the Rural Teachers' Training College (香港官立鄉村師範專科學校) between September 1946 and 1948. Later, being considered too close to the Chinese border in a Cold War context - the People's Republic of China was established in 1949, it was assigned to the British armed forces until 1960. It subsequently returned to its initial function as an alternate official residence. The Lodge has also hosted visiting dignitaries: famous guests have included Prince Charles in 1994 and British Prime Minister John Major in 1996.

See all
User Avatar
No comments yet.