Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park

Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park is a waterfront park in the Sai Ying Pun area of Hong Kong Island, facing Victoria Harbour. The park is named after Sun Yat Sen, and is the only one in Hong Kong named for a Chinese historic figure.[1]

Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park
中山紀念公園
Statue of Sun Yat-sen
LocationSai Ying Pun, Hong Kong
Area4.1 hectares
Opened1991
Operated byLeisure and Cultural Services Department
Public transit accessTram stop (160 m)
Sai Ying Pun Station (300 m)
Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park
Traditional Chinese中山紀念公園
Western Park
Traditional Chinese西區公園

History

Residents of Western had long lamented the limited recreation and leisure options in the district.[2] Two recreation projects on the Western reclamation near Sai Ying Pun were approved in the Urban Council Capital Works Programme 1986/87–1990/91: an indoor games hall (now the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre) and the original Western Park.[3] Only part of the site was originally released to the Urban Council since most of the land was required for the construction of the Western Harbour Crossing in the 1990s. Western Park, comprising two hectares, opened in 1991.[4]

Construction of the Western Park Sports Centre commenced in May 1992, and the facility opened on 22 May 1995.[5][6] It was renamed Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre on 1 June 2011.[6]

In 1999, the Provisional Urban Council approved the redevelopment of the park into a memorial park for Sun Yat-sen.[7] This opened in 2003, but only as a temporary park and still only occupying part of the waterfront reclamation.[8] The rest of the waterfront lands lay idle and fenced off, under the management of the Lands Department, following completion of the Western Harbour Crossing.[4] The park was criticised for failing to live up to its name, containing little more than a plaque quoting Dr. Sun.[8][9] Expansion of the park was planned, but delayed due to budgetary constraints.[9]

The expansion and redevelopment of the park was among 25 priority projects identified in the 2005 policy address.[4] The park closed on 28 March 2008 for reconstruction.[10] Phase one of the reconstructed park opened to the public on 26 June 2010.[11]

The Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Swimming Pool, which offers a 50-metre pool and a smaller teaching pool, opened on 30 November 2011.[12]

Features
Waterfront fountain and sculptures
Football pitch
  • Basketball courts (2)
  • Children's playground
  • Fitness stations
  • Football pitch (7-a-side)
  • Jogging track
  • Memorial lawn
  • Reflecting pool
  • Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre
    • Children's play room
    • Dance room
    • Fitness room
    • Gymnasium
    • Squash/table tennis rooms
  • Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Swimming Pool
    • Competition pool (50 metres)
    • Teaching pool
    • Spectator stand
    • Sunbathing area
  • Toilets
  • Waterfront promenade
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See also

References
  1. Footer, Mark (20 April 2008). "A walk in the park". South China Morning Post.
  2. "Western to have new park". South China Morning Post. 16 June 1986. p. 12.
  3. 109CR Park on Western Reclamation, 105CR Indoor Games Hall on Western Reclamation. Urban Council. 20 February 1987.
  4. "LC Paper No. CB(2)2798/06-07(01)" (PDF). Legislative Council Panel on Home Affairs. October 2007.
  5. Monthly Report on Capital Projects Under Construction. Urban Council. 8 June 1992. p. 3.
  6. "Indoor sports centres". Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  7. Ng, Kang-Chung (20 November 1999). "Sun Yat-sen park plan wins approval". South China Morning Post. p. 4.
  8. "Memorial park fails to live up to its name". South China Morning Post. 20 January 2003. p. 4.
  9. "Sun Yat-sen deserves a fitting memorial". South China Morning Post. 12 November 2003.
  10. "Temporary closure of Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park". Hong Kong Government. 28 March 2008.
  11. Nip, Amy (27 June 2010). "University pushed over Sun statue". South China Morning Post.
  12. "Two new LCSD heated swimming pools open today (with photos)". Hong Kong Government. 30 November 2011.

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