The 90-year-old“Tiger and Leopard Villa” in Tai Hang will become Hong Kong’s first“Cultural Villa” when it resumes operation at the end of this year after a three-year suspension.
According to Hong Kong Sing Tao daily reported on June 1, “Tiger Villa” will be open to the public from the end of this year, tickets about HK $100. Attending the launching ceremony, the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hong Kong, law suk-pei, said that the“Tiger and leopard villas” will become a cultural exchange center, adding a new highlight to the colorful arts and cultural activities in Hong Kong, “It will become a must-visit place for tourists to experience the history of Hong Kong.”. She said the“Tiger Balm Garden” and adjacent villas have held a special place in the hearts of generations of Hong Kong residents and bear witness to the city’s early artistic and cultural development.
Built in 1935 by the late overseas Chinese businessman Hu Wenhu, the“Tiger and Leopard Villa” covers an area of 2,000 square meters with gardens. Hu Wenhu (1882-1954) , born in Yangon, Myanmar, is a famous overseas Chinese entrepreneur, newspaperman and philanthropist, known as the“Newspaper King.”. Following in his father’s footsteps, Hu studied Chinese and Western medicine and created brands such as Tiger Balm, before founding newspapers such as Singapore’s Sing Tao daily and Hong Kong’s Sing Tao daily. According to historical records, Hu Wenhu led overseas Chinese to publicize the anti-japanese war and made a large amount of donations for the war.
“Tiger and leopard villas” was an early tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Some Hong Kong media called it Hong Kong’s“Original theme park.” Because the Hu family is well known in Southeast Asia, “Tiger Villa” in the 1940s and 1950s became a lot of Southeast Asian tourists travel destination. In 2009, the“Tiger Villa” was listed as a Grade I historical building in Hong Kong, and the villa was decommissioned and returned to the SAR government at the end of 2022. Last year, the government selected the arts and culture foundation to operate the“Tiger and Leopard Villa” on a non-profit and self-financing basis. The building will host regular concerts, art exhibitions and other events in the future. (ye Lan)