Landscapes Lost and Found：Appreciating Hong Kong's Heritage Cultural Landscapes

Hong Kong’s approach to heritage conservation has focused mainly on saving an old building here and there with little or no regard to its surroundings. Recent public debates challenging proposals to demolish the former Central Government Offices have highlighted this problem and, for the first time, acknowledged that the heritage value of the buildings is enhanced by their contribution to the broader ‘cultural landscape’ of Government Hill. Not all of Hong Kong’s heritage cultural landscapes have been so fortunate.

Landscapes Lost and Found illustrates the concept of cultural landscape using wonderful local examples and champions this new approach to interpreting and conserving Hong Kong’s heritage sites more effectively.

Ken Nicolson has worked in Hong Kong since 1984. His background is in town planning, landscape architecture, and heritage conservation. He is currently an associate professor at the University of Hong Kong, and author of The Happy Valley: A History and Tour of the Hong Kong Cemetery.

“Landscapes Lost and Found is an essential reference for conservation professionals and students. Cultural landscape is an important concept that has been recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage category, and the author contextualises the concept with local examples, making it relevant to Hong Kong and other Asian cities.”
—Lee Ho Yin, head of the division of architectural conservation programmes, the University of Hong Kong