The Jui Shek Hau Ancestral Hall

The Jui Shek Hau Ancestral Hall

The Jui Shek Hau Ancestral Hall is a traditional ancestral hall in Hong Kong and a landmark building in Ho Sheung Heung, Sheung Shui, New Territories. Built in the 27th year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty (1762), it has been a declared monument of Hong Kong since December 19, 2003.

The Jui Shek Hau Ancestral Hall is mainly used by villagers of Ho Sheung Heung for ancestor worship and traditional ceremonies, as well as for daily gatherings and discussions. Its roof ridges and gables are adorned with exquisite decorations, while the beams and bracket sets inside the hall feature intricate carvings of auspicious motifs. The Jui Shek Hau Ancestral Hall follows a three-courtyard, two-hall layout, consisting of a front hall, middle hall, rear hall, front courtyard, and rear courtyard. The middle hall houses an ancestral shrine dedicated to generations of forebears, and both sides of the front courtyard have side rooms, one of which on the right functions as a kitchen. The rear hall is a two-storey building that served as a school before the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong; the upper floor was used as a classroom, while the lower floor functioned as the teachers' dormitory.

The drum platforms and door frames at the front of the Jui Shek Hau Ancestral Hall are constructed from red sandstone, a precious material traditionally used in significant buildings. The roof ridges are decorated with delicate plaster carvings, and the carved auspicious patterns and folk tales on the huabiao (bracket arms), eaves boards, and tie beams, both inside and outside the building, are exquisitely detailed and ornate.

Hau Ku Shek Ancestral Hall

Why go: One of Hong Kong’s most renowned traditional ancestral halls