Restoration work at Liu Ying Lung Study Hall has won an honorable mention in the 2006 UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation, Hong Kong government said Tuesday.

Co-ordinated by the Antiquities and Monuments Office and the Restoration Committee of Hin Shing Tong, the works restored the hall's original Qing Dynasty look.

A Grade II historical building, the hall was built in 1838 to commemorate Liu Ying-lung, the fourth-generation ancestor of the Liu clan in Sheung Shui Wai, Sheung Shui.

It is a traditional two-hall premises with an open courtyard amidst its symmetrical and orderly layout. It is one of the three major ancestral halls built by the Liu clan since their settlement in the area.

Funded by the clan, the five million HK dollars (641,025.64 U.S.dollars) restoration work started in September 2004 and was completed last March. The works revived the original green-brick facade. Artists also re-painted faded and missing parts of the premises' murals. Other features were also conserved.

Meanwhile, St. Andrew's Church also won a merit award in the UNESCO program, which attracted 36 projects from 11 Asia-Pacific jurisdictions.

Source: Xinhua