King Yin Lei, also referred to as King Yin Lane, is a mansion located at 45 Stubbs Road

Stubbs Road

Stubbs Road connects Happy Valley and The Peak area on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, through an area near the Wong Nai Chung Gap. It goes through a residential area of luxurious high-rise tower blocks....

, in Mid-levels

Mid-levels

Mid-levels is an expensive residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located halfway up Victoria Peak, directly above Central...

, on Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...

. It was declared a monument

Declared monuments of Hong Kong

Declared monuments of Hong Kong are places, structures or buildings legally declared to be "protected". In Hong Kong, declaring a monument requires consulting the Antiquities Advisory Board, the approval of the Chief Executive as well as the publication of the notice in government gazette.As of 12...

 on 11 July 2008.

History and design

Situated above Happy Valley Racecourse

Happy Valley Racecourse

Happy Valley Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Happy Valley on Hong Kong Island, surrounded by Wong Nai Chung Road and Morrison Hill Road.-History:...

, the mansion was designed by British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

 A.R. Fenton-Rayen. It sits on a 50650 square feet (4,705.5 m²) site. Construction began in 1936 and was completed by 1937. The site comprises a three-storey "red bricks and green tiles

Chinese architecture

Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details...

" building, a private garden festooned with penjing

Penjing

Penjing , also known as penzai , tray landscape, potted scenery, potted landscape, and miniature trees and rockery is the ancient Chinese art of growing trees and plants, kept small by skilled pruning and formed to create an aesthetic shape and the complex illusion of age...

 plants, various pavilions and terraces. It has been a scenic spot for mainland and overseas tourists.

The building is well preserved because of the care given it by its owners, who valued the pre-War residence that blends Chinese Renaissance architectural styles.

Saving King Yin Lei

The property was offered for sale in early 2004. Despite claims that it was likely that the new buyer would demolish the property and redevelop it, the Government of Hong Kong did not act.

The Conservancy Association

Conservancy Association

The Conservancy Association is a Hong Kong non-governmental organization founded in 1968.The organization focusses on the protection of the environment and the conservation of natural and cultural heritage...

 of Hong Kong (長春社), a heritage advocacy group, wrote to the Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho

Patrick Ho

Dr Patrick Ho Chi-ping JP is an ophthalmologist, and Hong Kong's former Secretary for Home Affairs. From 1988-2000, he was Professor of Surgery at the Chinese University of Hong Kong....

 in April 2004 requesting him to consider declaring the mansion a monument under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance. The Association also organised a "Save King Yin Lei Campaign" in June and generated public discussion. Yau Mok Shing then announced that he would not sell the building for the moment.

The Government of Hong Kong did not act to preserve the building, arguing that it was private property and had not utilized its allocated land mass to the fullest. If the government was to declare it a historical building, thus forbidding the demolition and any further development on the site, it would have to pay a large amount of compensation to the owner, in the millions.

The owner wrote to the government on the preservation of the site but received no reply, after which the Secretary for Development Carrie Lam

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet Ngor

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, also known asCarrie Lam, GBS, JP is a civil servant-turned politician from Hong Kong, currently the Secretary for Development of Hong Kong Government...

 admitted it was insensitive of her department not to do so.

On 11 September 2007, dump trucks were spotted at the site. Parts of the roof were removed. All three Chinese characters on a front gate plaque were chiselled away by workers. The Conservancy Association of Hong Kong expressed disappointment that the government had not been able to preserve the estate. When the start of demolition was reported in the Hong Kong media, the government declared the site a proposed monument and ordered a work stoppage.

On 25 January 2008, the government reached a preliminary understanding with the owner on a possible preservation option for the mansion. Under the agreement, the owner will surrender King Yin Lei's entire site to the government after restoration. Subject to the necessary town planning approval, the government would grant an adjacent man-made slope site of a size similar to King Yin Lei to the owner for development, subject to the same plot ratio of 0.5 and a height restriction of three storeys.

King Yin Lei in popular culture

The building has been featured in several film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

s and TV series over the years. In Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon

Enter the Dragon is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts co-production with Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. studios, directed by Robert Clouse; starring Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon. This is Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973...

, it can be seen both on the black and white composite photo used to represent Han's Island during Lee's briefing with Braithewaite, and as a long shot as Lee enters Han's island.Clark Gable

Clark Gable

William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...

's Soldier of Fortune

Soldier of Fortune (film)

Soldier of Fortune is a 1955 adventure film about the rescue of an American held prisoner in the People's Republic of China in the 1950s. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk, starred Clark Gable and Susan Hayward and was written by Ernest K...

was filmed there in 1955.

The TV series Yesterday's Glitter (京華春夢) starring Liza Wang

Liza Wang

Elizabeth Wang Ming-chun, SBS, commonly known as Liza Wang, is an accomplished diva, actress and MC in Hong Kong. She is a well-known personality in Chinese-speaking communities. She has been nicknamed "The Big Sister" in the HK entertainment circle...

(汪明荃) was shot inside the mansion.

External links

• Hong Kong Conservancy Association
• Conserve and Revitalize Hong Kong Heritage: King Yin Lei webpages