Project Plum Grove | Thomas Chung

Project Plum Grove pioneers university-village action-research partnership to revive the 360 year-old Hakka village of Mui Tsz Lam (MTL) in Hong Kong’s remote north-east New Territories. Literally meaning “Plum Grove”, MTL is only 25km from Mong Kok, one of the world’s densest neighbourhoods. As part of a historic farming village cluster in Sha Tau Kok, the village was abandoned since mass migration abroad in the 1960s-70s. Now half-buried, its authentic cultural landscape of rowhouses, feng shui woods, terraced fields with stream is still visible.

This government-funded project engaged returning villagers to kickstart MTL’s revitalisation through experimental architectural demonstrations on two ruinous heritages (Old House and Mural House) strategically sited at two ends of the village.  Three design principles were adopted: 1) In-situ reuse and upcycle of locally-sourced materials, including rammed-earth reconstruction, 2) Light-touch interventions, sensitive installations using scaffolding, timber-bamboo installations, and 3) Co-create participatory revitalisation. Led by Thomas Chung, Associate Professor, School of Architecture, CUHK, this two-year project engaged villagers, over 120 public volunteers and three architecture student cohorts via experiential learning, from brainstorming, co-designing, on-site making to operation trials. 

A “Blossoming Festival” celebrated the completion of the two restored houses that became multi-use settings for display, trial events and workshops. Villagers provided stories, traditional Hakka snacks and cultural activities to share, while students and volunteers arranged feature tours and eco-inspired events to activate the entire village. With over 200 visitors including government officials, neighbouring villagers, professionals and university dignitaries attending, the lively festival was well-received with widespread media coverage.

Now with a second phase of funded restoration underway, the social impact of Project Plum Grove ranges from public talk invitations and tours to exhibitions and biennales (UABB2022 exhibiting both in Hong Kong and Shenzhen). Arguably an experiment in radical renewal, it became a catalyst for other village initiatives. These include volunteer-build communal furniture, privately-funded house rebuilding, NGO-funded communal kitchen, playground redesign, together with other cultural and ecological projects. Regenerating Place by reconnecting People via a collaborative Process, it demonstrates a viable model for longer-term village revitalisation in Hong Kong.