Tai Po Lookout

　　    The Tai Po Lookout (Tai Po Lookout) is located at No. 11, Tai Po Lookout Lane, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong. It was built around the early 1900s and is now listed as a Grade I historic building by the Antiquities and Monuments Office. The lookout is a single-story flat-roofed colonial building, featuring arched verandas to adapt to Hong Kong’s hot and humid climate. The most prominent feature of the building is its cylindrical watchtower, whose outer walls have multiple rectangular openings to allow for views over the Tai Po district and Tai Po Harbour. The watchtower also served as a water tower, storing rainwater collected from mountain streams for domestic use.

　　    The Tai Po Lookout is situated on a hillside in Tai Po amid lush greenery and scenic surroundings. In 1904, Lawrence Gibbs, a British civil engineer who had worked for the Hong Kong Public Works Department, was captivated by the beautiful landscape of the area. He purchased the land for his own residence and personally designed and built the house. In 1929, the lookout was sold to Herbert Austin Rogers. In 1933, it was sold again to John Alexander Fraser, the Assistant Attorney General. During the Japanese occupation, Fraser was imprisoned by the Japanese and died in the Stanley Internment Camp, while the lookout was commandeered by the Japanese military and used as a site for interrogating prisoners under torture. In 1947, the government acquired the property and converted it into an official residence for government officials. In 1996, the government leased the lookout to the AIDS Hospice Service Association to serve as a hospice for terminally ill AIDS patients. After 2000, it was rented out by the Government Property Agency for residential use.

　　    Transportation Guide

　　    Address: No. 11, Tai Po Lookout Lane, Tai Po, Hong Kong

　　    Getting There: Take KMB bus routes 72A, 72, 73A, 74A, 872, or New Territories minibuses route 28K to Tai Po Market Station, then walk to the bus stop on Tai Po Lookout Lane.