Sung Wong Toi Garden

Sung Wong Toi Garden

Sung Wong Toi (or Sung Huang Toi) is a commemorative stone slab located in Kowloon City District, Hong Kong. The park’s current site was officially completed in late 1959. It is said that Emperor Duanzong of Song, Zhao Shi, and his younger brother Zhao Bing were pursued by Yuan Dynasty troops and fled south to this area. To commemorate the event, later generations carved the three characters “Sung Wong Toi” onto a large rock. The original “Sung Wong Toi” stone was a massive boulder standing on a small hill known as “Sacred Hill” at Ma Tau Chung near the sea, in what later became the passenger terminal area of Kai Tak Airport. The “Sung Wong Toi” stone tablet was later moved to its current location about 300 feet away.

History

At the original location of the passenger terminal building of the old Kai Tak Airport in Hong Kong, there was once a 35-meter-high peak called “Sacred Hill,” with a circumference of approximately 606 meters. It was surrounded by land on three sides and faced Kowloon Bay to the east. In 1278, Emperor Duanzong of Song, Zhao Shi, and his brother Zhao Bing, fleeing from the pursuing Yuan Dynasty army, took refuge in the mountainous area of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. They rested on a giant rock on the mountain, estimated to weigh around 300 metric tons. Eventually, Zhao Shi died of illness in Hong Kong, while Zhao Bing committed suicide after losing the Battle of Yamen. Later, local residents carved the three Chinese characters “Sung Wong Toi” onto the huge rock, which could accommodate over 50 people.

There are rumors that “Sung Wong Toi” was actually a substitution for the character “Huang” (Emperor), changed to avoid provoking the Yuan emperor. Some say the stone originally bore the character “Wang” (King), while others believe it has always been “Wong” (王).

In the late 19th century, quarrying activities for construction materials on Sacred Hill near Sung Wong Toi posed a threat to the historic site. Ho Kai, a Chinese member of the Legislative Council, supported the preservation campaign initiated by residents of Kowloon City. On August 15, 1898, he proposed a motion in the Legislative Council calling for legislation to protect the Sung Wong Toi monument. In 1899, the Legislative Council passed the “Sung Wong Toi Preservation Ordinance,” prohibiting quarrying on Sacred Hill. In the early 20th century, the government, with donations from Chinese merchants, built a stone-paved park around the hill. The flat surface of the massive rock lies half on a large natural rock at the hilltop and the other half is unsupported except by a small stone.

During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, Kai Tak Airport needed to be expanded to include two intersecting runways. On January 9, 1943, a ceremony led by Japanese monk Utsugi was conducted, followed by multiple blasts that destroyed the entire boulder along with the nearby scenic spot known as “Kau Pui Shek.” The work was not yet completed when Japan surrendered. The British Hong Kong government restored the rock remnants, re-carved the three characters “Sung Wong Toi,” and relocated them to the newly built Sung Wong Toi Park, which opened in 1960. The current size is one-third of the original. With the relocation of the airport to Chek Lap Kok, there have been recent reports that the Hong Kong government plans to move the Sung Wong Toi back to its original site and reconstruct a replica to restore its former appearance. In the early postwar years, descendants of the Song imperial family residing in Hong Kong held memorial ceremonies near Sung Wong Toi and displayed portraits of Emperor Gong of Song and Emperor Duanzong at the gatherings.