Panyu Shrine puts modern building methods in new light

Panyu Shrine, a grade-one national treasure from the Guangdong Museum of Folk Arts, is being displayed in the SAR for the first time at Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre.

The traditional grandeur of the shrine is on show, along with 170 exhibits from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau as part of a free exhibition that will last until June 2.

Writing in her blog yesterday, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho said there are similarities between the shrine's design and the architectural concepts of modular integrated construction - a construction method whereby free-standing integrated modules complete with finishes, fixtures and fittings are manufactured in a prefabrication factory and then transported to site for installation.

Susanna Siu Lai-kuen, chief heritage executive at the Antiquities and Monuments Office, said the shrine's builders were the "pioneers of the MiC construction method," with the five-meter-high shrine deconstructible into 166 wooden components.

"Each component is connected by wooden joints of mortise and tenon. The shrine can be assembled easily so it can be erected and reassembled before and after the event," she said.

The exhibition, entitled "Under the Same Roof: Origin and Art of Lingnan Traditional Architecture," showcases the history and features of traditional Lingnan architecture, along with the culture and traditions of the Lingnan region and the Central Plains.

Siu said the exhibition took four years from conception to completion.

It is the first to be co-organized by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau following the signing of the memorandum of understanding on the exchange and collaboration on archeological and cultural heritage among Greater Bay Area regions in 2022.

"Once [post-panemic] normalcy was restored, museums and cultural offices from the three places began curatorial work," Siu said.

Visitors can witness the distinctive features of Lingnan traditional architecture up close and 170 relics.

"The exhibition traces the origins of traditional Lingnan architecture and its deep cultural and artistic underpinnings. It showcases the place's architectural style at all times, from the Qin, Han to the Qing dynasties," she said.

Dating back to 1909, the shrine is the largest and most exquisite structure to be carved out of wood in Guangdong.

"It couldn't fit in the Heritage Discovery Centre's exhibition hall so a temporary exhibition hall was constructed in the garden," Siu added.

Among other exhibits are a cased colored glass window and woven bamboo architectural decorative components from Macau Museum, as well as a carved red sandstone column base unearthed here that dates back to the Ming dynasty.