Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery

Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery

The Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery is located in Hang Tau Tsuen, Ping Shan, Yuen Long, New Territories, Hong Kong. It introduces the history of the Tang clan, one of the Five Great Clans of the New Territories, as well as the historic sites along the Ping Shan Heritage Trail. It officially opened on April 15, 2007.

The Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery was converted from the former Ping Shan Police Station, which was completed on April 22, 1899, and is one of the existing pre-war police stations in the New Territories. In 1997, the Hong Kong Government and the Tang clan reached an agreement to convert the building into the Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery, which also serves as a visitor centre for the Ping Shan Heritage Trail. At the end of 2002, the site was officially handed over to the Leisure and Cultural Services Department for management and was listed as a Grade III historic building. The Architectural Services Department spent HK$12 million on the renovation, preserving and restoring most of the original facilities. The gallery consists of three buildings. The main building is a two-storey structure with an arched veranda, featuring a white exterior and a watchtower added later to the roof. The two-storey north wing is connected to the main building, also with a white façade, open corridors, and a hip-and-gable roof, with two chimneys on the roof that offer a view overlooking structures such as the Tang Ancestral Hall, Kui Sing Lau Pagoda, and King Ling Study Hall.

The Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery houses several noteworthy exhibits. First is a birthday celebration banner from the 11th year of the Tongzhi Emperor’s reign (1872), measuring 12 feet long and 8 feet wide, exquisitely crafted. Next is a baby chair known as a “chair婆,” dating back to around the 1830s. There is also a bridal sedan chair used during traditional wedding processions in the 1950s, along with an imperial-style phoenix coronet. Lastly, there is a group photo of the founders of Tat Tak School taken in 1931. In addition, many other exhibits document the historical artefacts of the Ping Shan Tang clan.

Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery

Why go: The museum that best comprehensively showcases the cultural heritage of the Tang clan in Hong Kong’s New Territories