The Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong () is a social and charity institution in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. It was founded in 1901. It operates several major facilities such as the

Wu Kai Sha Youth Village The Wu Kwai Sha Youth VillageChinese YMCA of Hong Kongbr>Chinese Wu Kwai Sha Youth Village website/ref> () is a beach camp in Wu Kai Sha, Ma On Shan, Sha Tin, New Territories, operated by the Chinese Y M C A of Hong Kong. History The camp was or ...

History

The Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong was founded in 1918 by

Fok Hing-tong Fok Hing-tong (; 1872–1957), also known as Huo Qingtang, was a Hong Kong businesswoman and social reformer. Wife of Ma Ying-piu, founder of the Sincere Department Store, she was the director and chairwoman of Chinese YWCA of Hong Kong and the lea ...

, wife of Cantonese Christian businessman

Ma Ying-piu Ma Ying-piu (; 21 December 1860 – 15 July 1944) was a Hong Kong retailer and businessman. He founded the Sincere Department Store in 1900, the first Chinese-owned department store in China and is widely regarded as the "father of Chinese depart ...

.John Fitzgerald Big White Lie: Chinese Australians in White Australia 2007 - Page 204 "Ma's wife Huo Qingtang founded the Hong Kong branch of the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) in 1918, and two years later was elected founding.." Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong is different from

YMCA of Hong Kong YMCA of Hong Kong was established in 1901 as a charitable organization in Hong Kong, headquartered in Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. It is dedicated to the furtherance of justice, peace, hope and truth in the Hong Kong and international c ...

. They are two independent organisations in Hong Kong, both traced back to the same

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

but founded differently and provide different directions of service.

Bridges Street location

In 1915, architecture firm

Shattuck and Hussey Shattuck and Hussey was a Chicago-based architectural firm founded by Walter F. Shattuck (1871-1948) and Harry Hussey. History Shattuck studied architecture at the University of Illinois. After graduation, he taught construction and perspective a ...

was hired by the Chinese YMCA to design its new

Bridges Street Bridges Street () is a 300-metre two-way street in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Location On the east, the street intersects Shing Wong Street and Staunton Street. On the west, it intersects Square Street. The west side of the street ends with a s ...

location and construction began in 1917. The design was typical of the firm's work and indicative of the Chicago School style. It included Hong Kong's first indoor swimming pool, gymnasium with a mezzanine running track, and a variety of conference rooms. Upon its opening, hosted classes, workshops and lectures for Hong Kong men. In 1941, Japanese forces gained control of the building. In 1966, Chinese YMCA relocated to Waterloo Road in Yau Ma Tei and the building was adapted for use as a hostel and educational purposes. In 1979,

Antiquities Advisory Board The Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with the responsibility of advising the Antiquities Authority on any matters relating to antiquities and monuments. The AAB was establish ...

(AAB) gave the building a Grade II which was upgraded to Grade I in 2009.

Gallery

File:HK_ChineseYMCA_KowloonCentre.jpg, Chinese YMCA Kowloon Centre File:HK_ChineseYMCA_NTCentre.JPG, New Territories Centre File:HK HarbourviewInternationalHouse Entrance.jpg, Harbourview International House hotel File:HK_TheCityview_Entrance.JPG, The Cityview Hotel

References

External links

Official website
of the Chinese YMCA of Hong Kong {{Authority control YMCA Youth organisations based in Hong Kong