Points of Interest
University Hall
David’s Deer
David’s Deer represents the two sculptures that stand at the front door of University Hall. It matches the characteristics of Chinese guardian lions and is believed to be an old legend that helps to guard the castle. People, however, call the David’s Deer “four not alike”, because the David’s Deer is an imaginative animal that assembles the features of an elephant, qilin and lion but not exactly any of these. David’s Deer is famous for its curse. No Castlers dare to touch the David’s Deer as they believe that if they touch it, their university life, as well as their whole life, will be ruined. Whilst obviously the entire thing is probably superstition, the so-called ‘curse’ truly prevents David’s Deer (as a part of the declared monument) from damage.
Copper Spiral Staircase
The Copper Spiral Staircase connects all three floors of the castle. It is made in Paris and made of iron with a unique motif of owls. Before it is re-painted to gold color, it was red in color as it was rusted. Castlers called the staircase “red ladder” in the past. However, one day, a Malaysian student who spoke inaccurate Cantonese mistakenly called the “red ladder” as “copper ladder”. After that, residents started to call the staircase “copper ladder”. Due to the design of the copper spiral staircase, when female visitors wearing dresses are climbing up and down the stairs, it is quite embarrassing for the gentlemen below to look up the staircase. Therefore, there is a custom: “when going up, gentlemen first; when going down, ladies first”.
Fire Dragon Model
The Fire Dragon Model is located outside the Common Room. In late October 2015, Castlers went to the Pokfulam Village and learned from the local residents on how to make fire dragon and perform the fire dragon dance. They made their own fire dragon and joined the fire dragon festival. After that, they organised an exhibition in HKU campus to exhibit the fire dragon model and related information about the tradition of fire dragon dancing. Castlers find it important to preserve such valuable but disappearing traditional culture.
Béthanie
Dining Hall
The 2-storey dining hall was originally used as a chapel. The statues of St. Peter and St. Paul were moved to the new church, Ss. Peter and Paul Church in Yuen Long in 1958. Nowadays, it is a venue for daily meals and hall functions such as the High Table Dinner and Night. A lot of silver cups are stored in the cupboard in the dining hall. Every Castler who is going to graduate will be offered a silver cup with his name engraved. These cups will be kept in the dining hall as commemorative items.
The BNP Paribas Museum of Béthanie
The basement of Béthanie was a wine cellar and dry goods storeroom during the time of the French missions. It is renovated as the BNP Paribas Museum, which introduces the history of Béthanie and the missions’ past activities. Tickets available at www.hkticketing.com.
Our Lady of Lourdes Church
The renovated complex of Béthanie includes two performance venues, an exhibition hall, a chapel and a museum. The chapel in Béthanie is neo-gothic style, with simple and small-scale design. It is a very popular venue for wedding ceremonies. On Sundays and holy days, the St John’s Cathedral will make use of the chapel to hold routine religious services.
Chapel
Opposite to Chi Fu Fa Yuen is Pokfulam Garden. Back in the late 19th century, it was where the building Clanmore (or Claymore) located around. In 1885, M.E.P purchased it from Butterfield and Swire and used it as the home of Nazareth Press. M.E.P built three dormitories for the workers and their family members around Clanmore. The quarter was also composed of a primary school and Our Lady of Lourdes Church (completed in 1937). Clanmore is known as “Taikoo Lau” in Cantonese, which literally means “the building of Swire” (Taikoo is the Chinese name of Swire). Clanmore was sold to Dairy Farm after Nazareth Press moved to Douglas Castle. In 1954, M.E.P closed Nazareth Press; Taikoo Lau was handed over to Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong. The community was composed of around 300 residents (all are Catholics) at its peak, but declined after the closure of Nazareth Press. In 1976, the Diocese sold Taikoo to developers to generate income for providing services. Many residents of Taikoo Lau were then relocated to Wah Fu Estate while our Lady of Lourdes Church was relocated to Chi Fu Fa Yuen 1982.
Béthanie Sanatorium in around 1910 from a similar angle. Across the harbour is Lamma Island. The hill on the right is where the dairy farming facility on Victoria Road located.