New life for HK's historic building Lui Seng Chun

Ask people what a preserved building should be used for and many will say a museum. But there are other possibilities. One of Hong Kong's finest historic buildings, the Lui Seng Chun, has been given a makeover and is now home to a traditional Chinese medicine clinic.

The grade one listed historic building is over 80 years old. It overlooks an intersection on the Lai Chi Kok Road in Mong Kok. The four-storey building integrates both Chinese and Western architectural styles, popular in the early 20th century. Built in 1931, the ground floor was originally occupied by a Chinese bone-setting chemist called "Lui Seng Chun", while the upper floors were inhabited by the Lui family who built it.

Lu Aiping, Dean of School of Chinese Medicine, HKBU, said, "From the 1930s to the 1950s, it functioned as a drug store offering bone-setting medicines and herbal teas. It can be seen as a milestone in the development of traditional Chinese medicine in Hong Kong."

After undergoing restoration work, costing 28 million Hong Kong dollars, the Lui Seng Chun building became a clinic run by the Hong Kong Baptist University. It now serves 80 patients per day, providing a wide range of services including consultations on internal diseases, herbal medicine and acupuncture therapy.

Lu Aiping also said, "Besides medical services, there are also display areas in the Lui Seng Chun building. Local residents can come here to take a look at how the herbs grow."

Lui Seng Chun was not the only historic building to be restored. Six other buildings have also undergone restoration, thanks to the Hong Kong Government. In this way, these historic buildings are not only preserved, but they've been given a new lease of life.