Well-maintained heritage buildings in Hong Kong are great places to visit because of their architecture, which is often the result of different cultural influences, and the rich history behind them. A prime example is the white-domed edifice that sits beneath a lush canopy of trees at the quiet end of Leighton Road in Causeway Bay. The headquarters of Po Leung Kuk – one of Hong Kong’s biggest charities – was built in 1932.
Since then, the Neoclassical building has housed countless women and children who had nowhere to go and needed help. Today, the Grade I-listed historic building is home to around 180 children, aged between three and 18, who are in need of care. The building is open to visitors keen to learn more about the organisation’s long history of protecting the young and innocent – the only out-of-bounds area being the children’s residential area on the second floor.
Enter the complex by passing through a green-roofed traditional Chinese paifang gate and the first thing you see is a play area. Children’s playgrounds started to appear in Hong Kong at the beginning of the 20th century, and space for play has always been an essential part of the Po Leung Kuk complex. Painted white, the two-storey main building looks small in comparison to the towering luxury residential complex behind it.
Inside, the walls are filled with Chinese inscriptions written by famous calligraphers. The earliest are from the Qing dynasty. At the centre of the building is the Kwan T.