Bell back with bang in changing times

Hundreds turned out in Tsim Sha Tsui to hear the landmark Clock Tower bell toll for the first time in 71 years at 6pm yesterday.

From today the tower will toll every hour between 8am and 12am, with the number of dongs telling the time. The revival of the practice at the century-old clock will see spotlights bring out the tower's red bricks every night from six to eleven.

Yesterday's ceremony to celebrate the clocks' centenary was livestreamed on the "Centenary of the Bell" Facebook page, created by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.

"The clock tower has stood as the landmark of the old Tsim Sha Tsui terminus since 1915 and was the southernmost train station that connected mainland China and Hong Kong. It symbolizes the long-standing bond between the two places," Secretary for Home Affairs Casper Tsui said.

The first peal was heard in March 1921, which also marked the tower's birth as part of the former Kowloon-Canton Railway Kowloon terminus. It stopped ringing in 1950 as the clock had gone out of synch with the installation of four motors.

The terminus was demolished in 1978, leaving the tower as the only structure to be retained.

It was declared a monument in 1990 given its historical value and architectural characteristics. Built with red bricks and granite, the tower is in sync with the Hong Kong Observatory as a digital ringing system was installed in the tower this year. The sound was recorded from a similar clock made in 1921 from the same UK foundry, John Taylor & Company.

A couple, the Chungs, said the tower is one of the most iconic landmarks in Hong Kong and such a heritage building must be protected. "I used to take the trains next to the clock tower to Shenzhen with my mother when I was little. It is a memory we hold dear," the husband said.

An exhibition, Centenary of the Bell Resonance of Time, will be launched at the Cultural Centre from December 10 to 24, along with workshops to recount little-heard stories and the history of the tower.

"Not only would we like to showcase the history of the clock tower, we want to bring out the idea that it has evolved in time as well," Hong Kong Cultural Centre piazza manager Wilson Yan Sheung-Yin said.

The stories are divided into five chapters to recount the tower's history since 1915, including how one of its hands fell and how the ring was brought back to life. The exhibition comes with a music composition.

"We think the ringing connected people from the past and the present when we designed the theme of the exhibition," exhibition designer Chris Tsui said.