Lui Seng Chun

Situated on a triangular plot at the confluence of two major roads, Lui Seng Chun is a grand Chinese style 'tong lau' building, currently functioning as a Chinese medicine and healthcare centre, operated by the Hong Kong Baptist University.

Built at the behest of Lui Leng, co-founder of the Kowloon Motor Bus company, Lui Seng Chun was completed in 1931. Designed in a manner typical of buildings of that era, architect W.H. Bourne integrated Chinese and western style design elements, with neo-classical and Art Deco features visible throughout the building.

The eight granite support columns on the ground floor create a covered walkway that sheltered the original street level entrance and shop frontage. The Chinese characters for Lui Seng Chun are engraved on a stone plaques on the top floor, while other design features such as the building's elegant curves, clean horizontal lines, deep verandahs, and decorative urn shaped balustrades, are all synonymous with Hong Kong's pre-war tenement buildings.

Adhering to the stereotypical tong lau layout of "commercial below, residential above", the Lui family ran a traditional Chinese medicine bone-setting clinic on the ground floor, and utilized the upper storeys as an abode.

After Lui Leng passed away in 1944, the shop/clinic shut down a few years later. The Lui family continued to live on the upper floors until the 1960s, with family members gradually moving out until the building was completely vacated in the 1970s.

Having stood derelict for close to 30 years, Lui Seng Chun was designated a Grade I historic building by the Antiquities Advisory Board in 2000. Three years later, the Lui family donated their ancestral home to the government, making it the first case of a historic building being handed over to the government for the purpose of revitalisation. Hong Kong Baptist University were selected to conserve the building by converting it back into a Chinese medical facility.

Since Lui Seng Chun was first built, the surrounding area has changed dramatically. Prior to the massive land reclamation of the Kowloon peninsula, the mansion originally faced the harbour. Now, it is buried among the high rises and skyscrapers of Prince Edward district.

The Hong Kong Baptist University School of Chinese Medicine – Lui Seng Chun finally reopened in April 2012, the majestic old building having come full circle, revitalized by once again serving the community after a 60+ year hiatus.