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Address 號, 15A Tai Hang Rd, Tai Hang, Hong Kong Similar Haw Par Villa, King Yin Lei, Ho Tung Gardens, Lui Seng Chun, Old Tai Po Police Station | ||
Tiger Balm Garden (虎豹別墅), also called Aw Boon Haw Garden, was located at 15, Tai Hang Road, Tai Hang, Wan Chai District, Hong Kong. The garden was adjoining the Haw Par Mansion and its private garden. The Tiger Balm Garden was demolished for redevelopment in 2004. The Haw Par Mansion and its private garden have been preserved.
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The Hong Kong Haw Par Mansion and its formerly adjoining Tiger Balm Garden were one of three Tiger Balm mansions and gardens. The others are located in Singapore (now the Haw Par Villa) and in Fujian province, where the gardens remain.
History
The landscaped garden was built at a cost of HK$16 million by Aw Boon Haw and his family in 1935. Opened to the public in the early 1950s, it was one of the first theme parks in Hong Kong. In 1985, the garden was converted into the "Haw Par Villa" amusement park. Many of the sculptures were replaced by rides at that time, and were later replaced again by the old statues.
In 1998 the heir to the property, Sally Aw Sian, sold the entire Garden complex to the land development company Cheung Kong for redevelopment. The Hong Kong Government reached an agreement with Cheung Kong that, as part of the redevelopment, the Hong Kong Antiquities and Monuments Office (AMO) was to preserve and restore the Haw Par Mansion itself together with its private garden as a museum.
When the Tiger Balm Garden was demolished for redevelopment in 2004, many of the garden's murals and statues were salvaged by the AMO. The site of the Garden is now occupied by the residential development The Legend at Jardine's Lookout. Occupancy of the residence started in the first quarter of 2007.
Features
The original gardens covered eight acres (3.2 hectares). A 7-storey Tiger Pagoda was the highlight of the garden. Other tourist attractions included artificial Chinese landscaping dotted with sculptures.
Haw Par Mansion
The 3-storey Haw Par Mansion was the Aw family's residence in Hong Kong. It was built in 1935 in the Chinese Renaissance style. There are more than 500 relics in the Mansion; they underwent restoration and repair. The building became a Grade II historic building in 2000 and was granted Grade I status on 18 December 2009.