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Historic Building Appraisal

Shaw Studio (邵氏片場),

Clear Water Bay Road, Sai Kung, N.T.

Hong Kong was once the world’s largest film producing centre. The annual

output reached 310 in 1963, compared with 271 made in New Delhi, 225 in

Tokyo and 155 made by Hollywood film producers. The illustrious film industry

gave this tiny city the title of “Hollywood of the East”. Amid this background, on

a scenic site in Hong Kong’s Clear Water Bay stood a film giant which created

numerous popular films under the company name, Shaw Brothers, from early

1960s until 1980s. The main gate to the complex is distinguished by a prominent

signage: SHAW STUDIO and 邵氏片場. This film studio is also valued for its

association with Television Broadcasts Ltd (known locally by its initials, ‘TVB’)

which remains a dominant force in Hong Kong. Its head man was a media

magnate, the late Sir Run Run Shaw (1907-2014) or 邵逸夫 as he is styled in

Chinese, who built up his international film empire comparable to any of the

large film companies in the US and Europe.

Run Run was born to a wealthy textile merchant in Ningbo (寧波), near

Shanghai. At 19, he joined his three elder brothers on their pioneering efforts to

venture into the cinematographic industry. The brothers started with one cinema,

but by the Pacific War, they had their own film studio and opened more than 130

cinemas in Southeast Asia. In 1925, the eldest brother Runje (仁杰) established a

silent film studio, Tianyi Film Co (天一影片公司) which evolved into several

companies, each more famous than its predecessor. By 1934, a Tianyi studio was

set up in 42 Pak Ti Street, Kowloon, to produce local sound films. The Tianyi

studio was handed over to the second brother Runde (仁棣) in 1936 and was

later renamed Nanyang Film Co (南洋影片公司), becoming Shaw and Sons Co

Ltd (邵氏父子公司) in 1950. Shaw Brothers (HK) Ltd (邵氏兄弟(香港)有限公

司), established in 1958, is the most famous of the various enterprises of the

brothers.

In 1957, Run Run made the move to Hong Kong where he took over family

film production business from Runde, with an aim to upgrade and expand film

production in Hong Kong to feed his cinemas in Southeast Asia and to contend

for screen dominance. In quick time he bought an 186,000 sq. m. lot in Clear

Water Bay to splash on constructing a world-class film studio, which he ran with

his third brother Runme (仁枚). “They chose Hong Kong because it was the only

place they had the freedom to make the films they wanted to make,” said Stefan

Hammond, author of several books on Hong Kong film. Run Run invited Eric

Cumine Associates (甘洺建築師樓) to design the first buildings. Eric Cumine

(1905-2002) graduated from the prestigious London Architectural Association

School of Architecture and set up a practice in Shanghai. He opened his office in

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Interest

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Hong Kong in 1949 and became one of the most celebrated post-war architects

while he was practising.

From 1958 to 1960, a total of 65,000 sq. m. of land was levelled down for

the construction of the film studio, and two sound stages were completed by the

end of 1960. By 1961, the administration building, the film store & dubbing, and

two more sound stages were operational. The following year saw the completion

of staff dormitory, workshops for technical crew, and another two sound stages.

The levelling of an additional 200,000 square feet of land began in 1964, and the

colour film processing laboratory was completed in 1967. By the decade’s end,

the sprawling film studio boasted a total of 10 sound stages and various outdoor

sets. It also had resident quarters for film makers which placed it ahead of any

other studios anywhere. The 1970s saw the erection of a production department,

more offices, and the Shaw Villa (1971) for the reception of VIPs.

“Movies are an art, but they are also an industry,” the 59-year-old Run Run

said, according to an interview in Life magazine, Asia Edition, published on 14

November 1966. And in fact, Run Run lured large numbers of film talents for his

studio, which was run like an assembly line. Every stage of film production,

from script preparation to studio shots, was systemized. The studio was equipped

with its own comprehensive set of installations so that all high-tech special

effects, superimposition, and colour animation were done in house. The site also

included staff dormitories and canteens, and a mini-bank was set up in the 1970s,

making it a self-contained entity which was essentially a ‘town’ in itself. Thus it

was, still is, locally known most famously as Shaw Movie Town (邵氏影城). In

the mid-1960s, the studio complex had more than 500 members of resident staff,

among them actors, scriptwriters and a crew of technicians including carpenters,

plasterers, painters, and electricians.

“It was at that studio that each of us lived out our dreams…. Back in those

early days, we frequently spent all the twenty-four hour day in our paradise. We

had no reason to step outside of the studio campus…. Even when we were not

making films, if we did not feel like cooking for ourselves, we could eat out

three meals at either one of the two restaurants located at the studio”. Thus said

actress Cheng Pei-pei (鄭佩佩) when she reminisced about her movie town days.

Run Run also encouraged his staff to partake in extra-curricular activities held

inside of the movie town: in the 1960s the huge sound recording auditorium was

gaily decorated in Christmas and Chinese New Year Days, when the resident

staff such as directors, cameramen, stars and their guests gathered for family-like

parties. There were lots of singing, dancing, drinking, eating, and gifts were

raffled to the delight of all participants.

By the late 1960s, Run Run had risen to the status of film mogul and his

movie town helped put Hong Kong film on the world map. Still, because of the

need to meet audience demand for more and better films, the studio staff were

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shooting and editing films around the clock, working 3 shifts of 8 hours each.

“World’s busiest film producer,” was how Hong Kong’s English-language daily,

The China Mail described Run Run in an exclusive interview published on 9

March 1965. The newspaper reached this conclusion by taking as its criterion the

total number of films in active operations on a single day by any producer. By

this token, Run Run’s 21 films was a world record, making him the most

illustrious film producer. Comparative figures for any individual film producer

elsewhere in the world were 16 in Hollywood, 15 in New Delhi, 10 in Tokyo,

and 5 in London.

The movie town survived and developed by concentrating on both quantity

and quality. Throughout the 1960s, it turned out many notable films that could

hold their own in the Chinese film market and dominated the Asian Film Festival

awards ceremonies: Best Actress, Best Director, Best Picture. The period dramas

from Chinese classical tales, directed by Li Han-hsiang (李翰祥), won acclaims

for aesthetic qualities accomplished entirely within the studio. The Magnificent

Concubine (楊貴妃) released in 1962 won the Grand Prix for Best Interior

Photography and Colour in the Cannes Film Festival of the year. The Love

Eterne (梁山伯與祝英台) (1963) ended up being a smash success, both at home

and in Taiwan. The King Hu (胡金銓) classic Come Drink with Me (大醉俠)

(1966) and the Chang Cheh (張徹) classic The One-Armed Swordsman (獨臂刀)

(1967) inaugurated a new generation of martial-chivalric films in the late 1960s.

With so much interest surrounding the Shaw successes in box office, film

producers from abroad knew that in the movie town they could find not only

spectacular film sets (with walls, palaces, pagodas, streets gracing the landscape

of ancient dynasties) but also skilled people and modern equipment essential for

sophisticated film work. Among the films screened here were: Three Yellow Cats

with Germany; The Goddess Of Mercy with Korea; and The Golden Buddha with

the Philippines, all released in 1966; and the British film, The Million Eyes of

Su-muru (1967). Curiosity of Asia’s largest film studio was furious, and the

1964 visitors included Robert Wise, a director in Hollywood who twice received

Academy Awards as best director; C. K. Yang (楊傳廣), Olympic silver-medal

decathlete who got the nickname ‘Asian Iron Man’; and Lady Trench, the wife of

Sir David Trench, Hong Kong Governor. When they came to Shaw Studio, they

were entertained by Run Run, who used them to bring publicity to his big screen

stars by having group photos.

Shaw Bros. was the driving force behind Mandarin film business. Due to

its widespread influence, Mandarin films edged their way to dominance in the

Hong Kong cinema, displacing their Cantonese counterpart to the margin,

resulting in a different outlook for the film world. The rising crest of locally

produced Mandarin films was due largely to the technical innovation and artistic

sophistication displayed by them, often boosted by the theme songs that became

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hits with the cinema audience. Most of the Mandarin films were made in full

colour, but the films produced in Cantonese sound-tracks were usually in

black-and-white, and they thus lagged behind in box-office returns. Production

of Cantonese films dropped sharply by the decade’s end—from 211 in 1961 to

35 in 1969, and only 1 in 1970. Not a single Cantonese sound film was released

in Hong Kong in 1972.

With the coming of the 1970s, Shaw Bros. faced the challenge of a new crop

of upstart film companies. Due to market considerations and the injection of new

talents, it made due efforts to diversify film genres. The House of 72 Tenants (七

十二家房客), a realist comedy produced in Cantonese rather than Mandarin,

fought its way to the top at Hong Kong’s box office in 1973. Later works like

Disciples of Shaolin (洪拳小子) (1975) and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (少林

三十六房) (1978) did extremely well at the box office and took kung-fu films to

another level of fantasy. Shaw Bros. also shot films such as Legend of the Seven

Golden Vampires (1974) jointly with Hammer Films; Cleopatra Jones and the

Casino of Gold (1975) a co-production with Warner Brothers; and, jointly with

Germany, Mighty Peking Man (1977). The studio produced hundreds of films

from 1960 to 1985 and at its busiest in 1974 it made 50 films a year.

Not to be forgotten is the “star build-up” of Shaw’s Southern Drama Group

(南國實驗劇團) which provided performing arts training to budding stars and

turned out an endless supply of new blood into the film industry. After its

relocation to the Clear Water Bay movie town in 1964, from the old Chi Lik

Building, in Nathan Road, Kowloon—the Group increased its effort to groom

trainees for stardom. Such stars as Yueh Hua (岳華), Ti Lung (狄龍), Lily Ho

(何莉莉) and Li Ching (李菁) are just a few who rose to fame. Others achieved

stardom through Shaw’s subsidiary, TVB. The training courses of Shaw and

TVB united at Shaw Studio in 1971, under joint Shaw-TVB management.

Henceforth, the Southern Drama Group was succeeded by TVB’s annual actors

training courses that helped launch the careers of some of today’s biggest

Chinese stars, including Chow Yun-fat (周潤發).

By the time Shaw Studio wrapped production in the early 80s, Run Run

could claim credit as the producer of the largest number of Chinese language

films in the world. After the wild success of Shaw Brothers, in 1967 Run Run

established TVB, Hong Kong’s first free-to-air television station. From films to

television shows, he created an entertainment empire that was, still is to this day,

hugely influential in East Asia and beyond the Pacific Ocean. He was knighted

by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on 7 March 1978. In the 80s, Run

Run leased out his studio to local and foreign companies. TVB City (電視廣播

城) was housed in Shaw Movie Town from 1988 to 2003, when it enjoyed one

of the most fruitful periods of its history. Also in 2000, Run Run agreed to the

sale of his unique library of more than Shaw Bros. 760 films to Celestial Pictures

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Ltd, a multi-media company, and the films are now globally circulated to

audiences old and new.

Architecturally, the whole site can best be described as forming three

functionally distinct zones. The Commercial Group is arranged along Clearwater

Bay Road on the western edge of the site, comprising the Administration

Building (the old Shaw House), the present Shaw House, TVB Office, and TVB

House. Next, the Industrial Centre, located on a raised plateau, is the central

production ‘heart’ of the site which houses the main production facilities of the

studio. Thirdly, the Accommodation Area is detached from the main studio area;

this is approached by leaving the studio area by the main gate, then joining a

public side road.

(1) Commercial Group

The nerve centre of the studio was the 3-storeyed Administration Building

(行政大樓) (the old “Shaw House”) sited at right-angles to the main entrance of

the studio complex. It included the conference room, the publicity department,

the accounts department, the arts and script writing section, in which major

policy decisions were taken and colossal projects were entered into. To keep his

movie town at his finger-tips, Run Run had a control board in his office which

could tell at a glance what was taking place daily concerning his films: shooting,

sound recording, set building or any other active phase of production. Run Run

worked continuously at the studio from 1960 until his retirement some 50 years

later. A report by Life magazine journalist Ron De Paolo in 1966 described a

typical day in the life of Run Run in the heyday of Shaw Studio:

“He rises each day of the week at 6 am, eats a spare breakfast of Chinese

noodles and tea, does Chinese calisthenics, dresses, reads a script or two and

heads for the studio in one of his Hongkong based Rolls Royces. The drive

takes five minutes down the winding Clearwater Bay Road. He arrives by 8

am, completes a tour of the working stages by 9.15 and settles in for a

morning of watching rushes from the previous day’s shooting, looking at

competitors’ movies and reading more scripts. Conferring with his

Production Supervisor Raymond Chow, Run Run also advises writers on

stories or directors and actors on scenes. He lunches briefly at the bungalow,

has a half hour’s nap, then returns to the office until nightfall. He turns in at

midnight and repeats the schedule every day except Sunday, when he comes

to the studio to see a selected sampling of competitors’ films (six or seven at

a sitting). On Sunday afternoons, he retires to a Shanghai style bath house

where for two hours he soaks.”

The Administration Building was originally a rectangular block built in

1960 (architect Eric Cumine甘洺); and in 1969, a small extension for storing

files and films (architect Peter Y. S. Pun 潘衍壽) was added to the south of the

original block, this formed the present L-shaped block. The original block was

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Appraisal

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first known as the ‘Administration & Dining Unit’ because the 2/F was used as

the ‘Executive Dining and Lounge’; it later became the conference room. At the

front of the block is a small attractive landscaped driveway forming a

‘buffer-zone’ from the main studio entrance.

The front elevation is basically a plain rectangle with small wings added on

either end, one contains an enclosed staircase, the other houses a tower for the

water tank; these small additions give some asymmetry to the otherwise regular

shaped façade. The windows are also basically set out in a regular pattern

(except those to the main staircase) with interesting narrow ‘round-head’

windows to the G/F and square metal windows to 1/F and 2/F. The interesting

exterior signage of the building features the iconic Shaw Brothers logo,

comprising the initials SB over a shield (made of glass mosaic), plus a simplified

“邵氏” in an Art Deco script. On the roof is a concrete sign “Shaw House”, also

in an Art Deco format.

The really striking feature of the elevation is the exceptional treatment of the

window surrounds, which have been decorated in a very personal and highly

expressive style, possibly a reference to the work of Antonio Gaudi (1852–

1926), with its various oddly shaped window surrounds, together with the glass

mosaic decoration at the entrance. The round-arched openings along the G/F also

give a Spanish ‘flavour’ to the overall appearance. From close-up the surface

treatment of the walls of the elevations accentuates the ‘organic’ nature of its

appearance, with heavily textured plaster stucco (similar to cactus or durian

skin). However, when looking more closely at the elevation, the architectural

motifs around the windows are in fact in the form of regular styled geometric “┐

┌ and ┘└” shapes, equally balanced on either side. To add to the variety there

are two long and prominent “eyebrow” (or wing) RCC hoods – one over the

windows of Sir Run Run’s office, and the other over the main entrance. The

external windows to the staircase are each in a different style at each floor level,

which gives even more overall variety and movement to the exuberant

appearance of the block.

Internally, the layout and appearance are on more conventional lines, with a

standard office layout around the central concrete staircase, which is located in

the main entrance lobby. Sir Run Run’s office was on the 2/F in the corner,

which overlooked the front entrance. This was an “en-suite” office arrangement,

with an elegant curved entrance screen (made of an early form of

wood-patterned ‘Formica’ moulded sheeting). Externally, this office is enhanced

with a long ‘winged’ window hood motif and is also provided with a narrow

private balcony, from where the boss could view the arrival of his visitors. In all,

this building still presents a truly unusual and exiting appearance when first

viewed by a visitor, even at the present time when its external condition is rather

shabby and requires redecoration.

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In contrast to the old 1961 Shaw House, is the shiny modern new Shaw

House (邵氏大樓) which was built in 1996 to replace the previous film store

and car park. This is a strictly modern curtain-wall design office block typical of

the period, but with two curved ‘bull-nose’ ends topped with wide conical roofs,

making a distinguishing feature. This modern office block superseded the old

Shaw House as their administration centre, although Sir Run Run still retained

his own 2/F office in the original block, until his retirement.

Next along is TVB Office (無線電視寫字樓) which is a 6-storey H-shaped

block, with square unadorned and flush windows set out in pairs. The internal

courtyard was roofed over at a later date. Built in 1963 (architect Eric Cumine),

this block was originally called ‘Dormitory No. 2’ or ‘Workers Dormitory’, with

double bunks on 3/F to 5/F, single bedrooms on 1/F to 2/F, and a medical

inspection section with kitchen & storage on G/F. The impetus for building this

dormitory was that Shaw Bros. was recruiting many film workers from Taiwan at

the time and they all needed housing. Among the first émigrés from Taiwan were

film directors like Yen Chuan (嚴俊) and Chin Chien (秦劍), actresses like Jenny

Hu (胡燕妮) and Lily Ho (何莉莉). Eventually, the studio built one of its first

elevators in the block’s middle section for the convenience of the occupants. In

later years, this building was converted into the TVB Office, with a martial arts

direction department where the TVB artist trainees took swordplay lessons. The

opening of the TVB Office signalled the change of Run Run’s entertainment

empire from film making to a TV enterprise.

The next adjoining building is the TVB House, which was built in 1988 to

replace the previous premises of the Southern Drama Group. The TVB House is

a long horizontal shaped block, with accentuated horizontal beams, forming the

original administrative centre for Run Run’s new TV empire.

(2) Industrial Centre

Once inside the main gate of the studio and past the new Shaw House on the

left, there is an access road that leads up to the production centre of the

organisation, which is situated on a wide level terrace. The ‘Industrial Centre’

comprises sound stages, canteen, production department, etc. together with

state-of-the-art equipment and laboratory facilities, which together allowed for

the production of big-budget, immensely popular epics with glorious costumes.

It is set out in a general grid-type layout, although many of the original spaces

and walkways have now been covered in for temporary use as workshops,

storage, etc.

The first of these major buildings along the access road are: Sound Stage I

(一號錄影廠) and Sound Stage II (二號錄影廠), both of which were built in

1960 (architect Eric Cumine) in unadorned modernist style. Their distinctive

single storey wings and imposing gable walls add to their solid “no nonsense”

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appearance. These two buildings are of functional design as befits film shooting

operational requirements. The interiors are wide and roomy, built with dressing

room, store room, rest room, recording booth, and toilets. It was here that the

artisans erected varieties of film sets which could be easily dismantled, and

speedily replaced after shooting was completed.

The next building along this row is the twin-roofed Sound Stage III & IV

(三至四號錄影廠) (built 1961, architect Eric Cumine). This was built to meet

the urgent production needs of the time, but with little attention to architectural

or visual merit. They now seem to have become an assortment of various factory

units joined together in random manner, due to many ‘temporary’ additions made

over the years.

Following along is Sound Stages V & VI (五至六號錄影廠) (built 1962,

architect Eric Cumine), which is of an even simpler design than the other sound

stages and consists of a basic concrete fame and prefabricated concrete panel

cladding with pitched corrugated metal roof. Miscellaneous “industrial style”

additions have been made over the years and many of the buildings in the

‘industrial centre’ are interconnected by covered walkways and canopies. The

small confined space between Sound Stages V & VI and Sound Stage III & IV

was a busy spot for film workers to gather, for it contains the main Notice Board

giving details of each day’s filming programme.

Further along on the same side, is Sound Stages VII to X (七至十號錄影

廠) (built 1966, architect T. K. Wong 王定基) equipped with studio and switch

& transformer rooms. Built in 1966, it is another functional industrial-type

design, comprising a basic single storey concrete-framed shell, with pitched

corrugated metal roof and brick walls, and now exhibits numerous temporary

steel-framed extensions. In short, it is utilitarian and functional and provided to

meet the specific requirements of the time. Previously, the spacious area outside

the sound stages was used to house replica of historic streets as props for movies.

Close to the Sound Stages, a Canteen (餐廳) (architect Eric Cumine) was

built in 1958 for the growing number of workers and film extras. The canteen is

a rather typical 1950s clean and simple modernist single-storey design with

concrete frame and flat roof. The Costume Store (服裝間) (architect Eric

Cumine) was originally constructed in 1962 as a two-storey rectangular block,

which has since been specially adapted with the addition of a large roof in order

to extend the use; probably to serve as a ‘waiting area’ in rainy weather for the

many extras (in costumes), while they were waiting to enter one of the nearby

sound stages. The prominent concrete Water Tower provides a good landmark

around this area.

Retracing our steps down to the rear of the old Shaw House, we can take the

external 1/F walkway and directly enter the Film Store and Dubbing (片倉及

配音室) (built 1961, architect Eric Cumine), which was equipped with dark

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rooms, drying rooms, printing and viewing panels, etc. The post-production

dubbing unit helped shorten shooting time and maximise film production. It was

designed in a much simplified and regular form than the old Shaw House, but it

retains the decorative concrete hoods above the windows, as well as the textured

stucco.

Continuing along the access road from the Film Store and Dubbing, we reach

two more buildings which form part of the first phase of the development. The

Colour Laboratory (彩色沖印房) built in 1966 (architect T. K. Wong 王定基)

is equipped with facilities that could develop 1,000 feet of negative or 5,000 feet

of film in an hour. The lower basement has nine 3,500 gallon concrete water

storage tanks. Architecturally, it is a simple rectangular building but has been

given some modest ‘Cumine’ elevational treatment as a decorative feature,

thereby visually connecting it to the nearby blocks. The Complex Building (綜

合大樓) (built 1975, architect Andrew Jean 姜福釗) is equipped with an editing

room on G/F, a file store and printing & subtitling room on 2/F, and general

store on 3/F to 5/F. It is a 5-storey concrete block. Surfaces of cast concrete are

made to reveal the basic nature of its construction, with strong horizontal

fenestration in the external elevations.

The Production Department (製片部) (architect Andrew Jean) was built in

1975. The distinctive protruding pipes were for cross-ventilation purposes that

were essential for film processing before air-conditioning was fitted; in this case

the architect has made them into a distinctive feature of this otherwise simple

block. When air-conditioning was installed, the pipes to G/F elevation were

removed and some unsightly alterations made.

The Purchasing Department (採購部) (architect Andrew Jean) was built in

1975. The design repeats the strong and simple horizontal emphasis which is

matched by the adjoining Production Department block, and this helps unify

these two similar sized blocks. The Production Department is a plain rectangular

2-storey concrete block which is distinguished by the layout of vertical louvered

windows to the ground floor.

The north corner of the production complex contains the massive TVB

Production Block (多用途電視錄影廠). Built in 1988, it is the latest of the

main buildings constructed as part of the TV production facilities. It is designed

with a substantial concrete-framed structure with flat roof and concrete panel

walls (beige colour).

The TVB Prop (道具房) (architect Denton Corker Marshall) was built in

1995 on the old site of the film studio’s ‘Dormitory No. 1’. This block is a large

4-storey warehouse-type structure with small windows and a distinguishing

curved front elevation wall, designed to closely follow the adjoining curved

elevated access road which leads up to Shaw Villa.

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(3) Accommodation Area

Completely separated from the ‘works’ area of the site and located in a quiet

side off, off Clear Water Bay Road, is the Accommodation Area. At the end of

this side road is the long rectangular Dormitory No. 3 (三號宿舍) built in 1968

(architect Peter Y. S. Pun). This is a 4-storey block originally named Tun Ho

Building (敦厚樓) and it is the highest standard dormitory building on the studio

site. It was reserved for the most famous film stars like Tony Liu (劉永), Man

Tze-leung (萬梓良), Erh Tung-sheng (爾冬陞), Hui Ying-hung (惠英紅), Liu

Chia-hui (劉家輝) and directors such as Chang Cheh (張徹) who had directed

many enduring films, and in the process, helped train an eager young assistant

director, John Woo (吳宇森), who before his move to the Hollywood, joined

Shaw Brothers as an apprentice to Chang Cheh. On 18 May 1968, the Hong

Kong Governor, Sir David Trench, presided over the foundation stone laying

ceremony.

Next there is Dormitory No. 4 (四號宿舍) (built 1968, architect Peter Y. S.

Pun) which is a 10-storey block of conventional design ordinary-grade

residential block. It is similar in appearance to many government housing blocks

of the period. The impressive looking Guard House (built 1968) is of concrete

construction in a cantilevered two-story design. This structure was considered

essential for security to Dormitory Nos. 3 and 4.

The third medium-rise dormitory block for the film studio’s employees is the

Administrative Staff Quarters (行政人員宿舍) (built 1977, architect Andrew

Jean). It is a 6-storey block built in two distinct wings, linked by a central

staircase tower. It is a conventionally designed high-grade residential block with

a car park at G/F, typical of the period. Each floor has a public laundry room, and

each of the units is fitted with living and dining room with one or two bedrooms.

Since the early 1980s, Shaw Brothers was no longer making as many films as

before. Yet there remained quite a number of old employees who were living out

the remainder of their lives in the film studio’s dormitories. For instance, Chang

Cheh (1923-2002) went on to live there until he died. When the 21st Hong Kong

Film Awards bestowed upon him the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’, because he

was not able to walk far, a group of his friends went to his apartment at Shaw

Studio in order to complete the award ceremony held on 21 April 2002.

The Shaw Villa (邵氏別墅) (built 1971, architect Peter Y. S. Pun) is a

separate detached villa in the northeast corner of the site. It is approached by its

own elevated driveway and deliberately kept remote from the remainder of the

film studio site to ensure privacy and quiet for its VIP occupants. It is located on

the hillside, with a magnificent sea view; it comprises a dining room, kitchen,

servant room, garden, and a private cinema at basement. The villa is a

rectangular concrete modernist block of five-stories (two are semi-basement at

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the rear). The narrow vertical windows on the front elevation add a contrast to

the overall horizontal ‘stretched-out’ effect. There is a coloured mosaic panel

which adjoins one side of the entrance-way. The curving driveway leads up from

the general level of the studio area, up to the villa; it features concrete

balustrades that echo the dominant long horizontal emphasis of the main

building and also features a vertical infill feature that adds interest and lightness

to the design.

The old Shaw House (Administration Building) is visually the most unique

and striking building on the whole of the site and there is nothing of a similar

decorative style known to exist elsewhere in Hong Kong. It is also significant in

that it also housed Sir Run-Run’s headquarters during the most successful and

colouful period in the Shaw Studio’s history.

The Shaw Villa is of a completely different design philosophy than either the

old Shaw House or the ‘industrial area’ and is a fine example of a contemporary

modernist low-rise block; although in style it is more “institutional” than

“domestic”. The Complex Building, Colour Laboratory, and Film Store &

Dubbing, all display some of architect Eric Cumine’s design mannerisms but to a

lesser extent than the old Shaw House. As for authenticity, all the above

buildings have various degrees of alterations or additions over their lifetime, due

to changes of use, as can be expected for fully utilised and up-to-date industrial

buildings.

Considered individually, many of the buildings have little architectural rarity:

for example, the medium-rise accommodation blocks were typical of residential

buildings of the 1960-70s, of which there are still many similar examples of this

kind in Hong Kong. So too are the medium-rise commercial blocks ranging from

1965 to 1996 which are very typical of the period and exhibit no outstanding

architectural qualities. The ‘industrial blocks’ are generally basic functional

designs of the period, with few outstanding features of design or construction.

For Sound Stages I & II however, Eric Cumine seemed to take special care on

their design and siting by presenting them in matching design and as a pair of

functional blocks. For although they are built purely for industrial filming

purposes, architect. Sound Stages III & IV display no special rarity but several

‘mannerist’ decorative features. The remainder of the sound stages are of no

unique defining architectural rarity and neither do they show such attention to

detail, but instead amply demonstrate the result of a very practical and speedy

approach to both design and construction, that must have been essential during

the busiest period of film production and so contributed in no small way to the

success of the enterprise.

Rarity,

Built Heritage

Value

& Authenticity

12

The establishment of this film studio was symbolic of the momentum in

Hong Kong towards greater industrialization in the early post-war period, when

investment from émigré Chinese capitalists stimulated the territory’s economy

into becoming a source of supply for manufactured goods, including films, for

distribution locally and overseas. After losing the China market after the political

upheaval of 1949, Run Run was able to quickly establish a transnational network

that spanned and served, mostly mass audiences in Hong Kong, Taiwan,

Southeast Asia and US Chinatowns, which helped make ‘Shaw Brothers’ a

household name.

The Administration Building (the old Shaw House) is a well-known local

landmark that has been deeply embedded in the collective memory of the local

community for more than half a century, firstly, because it is well known to the

public due to its prominent position on the Clear Water Bay Road; it is also the

most recognised and iconic building of the studio and was frequently used as a

set in films and TVB soap operas, most famously as a hospital – with which

many TV audiences have come to associate the building. The public also hold

this particular building with a strong affection and enduring association with the

Shaw Brothers legend, recently reinforced by repeated shots of the building in

TVB’s documentary on the legend of Sir Run Run Shaw (邵逸夫的傳奇), aired

on the day of his death, 7 January 2014.

Sir Run Run Shaw left a legacy that is unforgettable. As much as he is

fondly remembered for giving immeasurable enjoyment through cinema and

television, his name also lives on for philanthropy. His “Sir Run Run Shaw

Charitable Trust” and “Shaw Foundation” made countless donations to promote

education, scientific and technological advancement, medical services, culture

and art. In 2002, he famously established an international science award, The

Shaw Prize. Dubbed the “Nobel Prize of the East”, The Shaw Prize annually

gives US$1 million each to three people doing promising research in the fields of

astronomy, mathematics, life and medical science.

Twelve years as President of Hong Kong Red Cross, Sir Run Run Shaw also

helped set up the Community Chest and advocated the work for the Arts

Festival. He was well known in the Mainland as a philanthropist because Shaw’s

fund is the longest-lasting education donor in the Mainland, with the largest

amount of donations and number of projects involved. In the process, he earned

accolades honouring his generosity. His name adorns many hospitals and school

buildings in the mainland and Hong Kong. Here are some local examples–

1. Buildings/Sites named after Sir Run Run Shaw at CityU

1 (a) Run Run Shaw Library (邵逸夫圖書館)

1 (b) Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre (邵逸夫創意媒體中心)

2. Buildings/Sites named after Sir Run Run Shaw at CUHK

2 (a) Shaw College (逸夫書院)

Social Value

& Local

Interest

13

2 (b) Run Run Shaw Science Building (逸夫科學大樓)

2 (c) Sir Run Run Shaw Hall (邵逸夫堂)

3. Buildings/Sites named after Sir Run Run Shaw at HKBU

3 (a) Shaw Campus (逸夫校園)

3 (b) Sir Run Run Shaw Building (邵逸夫大樓)

4. Buildings/Sites named after Sir Run Run Shaw at HKU

4 (a) Run Run Shaw Building (邵逸夫樓)

4 (b) Run Run Shaw Heritage House (逸夫苑)

4 (c) Run Run Shaw Tower (逸夫教學樓)

5. Building/ Facility named after Sir Run Run Shaw at PolyU

5 (a) Shaw Sports Centre (邵逸夫體育館)

5 (b) Shaw Amenities Building (邵逸夫樓)

The varied types of buildings and structures in the Shaw Studio complex

certainly have group value both on economic and social grounds, which reflects

the historical and frantic industrial development of this unique site for over 60

years. However, from an architectural and visual viewpoint, the entire film

studio site does not itself constitute one single distinct ‘group’ or ‘ensemble’, due

to the varying site characteristics, widely different purposes for each of the

various buildings, and their assorted designs by different architects over a

relatively long time period. To take one example, the modernist design of the

Shaw Villa (1971) is in complete contrast to the exuberant and decorative earlier

work of the old Shaw House (1960), which is again a visual contrast to any of

the basic and functional Sound Studios. But, Eric Cumine incorporated many

common design features, including expressive window surrounds, textured

stucco rendering, etc., which is repeated in his buildings’ exteriors and they

certainly help create their own visual architectural ‘Cumine’ identity.

Group Value

14

Shaw Studio, Clear Water Bay Road, Sai Kung, N.T.

No. Buildings Architect Year of Construction

1 Canteen 餐廳 Eric Cumine 1958

2 Sound Stage I 一號錄影廠 Eric Cumine 1960

3 Sound Stage II二號錄影廠 Eric Cumine 1960

4 Administration Building行政大樓

(old Shaw House)

Eric Cumine 1960

5 Film Store and Dubbing 片倉及配音室 Eric Cumine 1961

6 Sound Stages III & IV 三至四號錄影廠 Eric Cumine 1961

7 Sound Stages V & VI 五至六號錄影廠 Eric Cumine 1962

8 Costume Store 服裝間 Eric Cumine 1962

9 TVB Office (former Dormitory No. 2)

無線電視寫字樓 (前二號宿舍)

Eric Cumine 1963

10 Sound Stages VII to X 七至十號錄影廠 T. K. Wong 1966

11 Colour Laboratory 彩色沖印房 T. K. Wong 1966

12 Dormitory No. 3 (alias Tun Ho Building)

三號宿舍 (別稱:敦厚樓)

Peter Y. S. Pun 1968

13 Dormitory No. 4 四號宿舍 Peter Y. S. Pun 1968

14 Guard House 守衛室 Peter Y. S. Pun 1968

15 Shaw Villa 邵氏別墅 Peter Y. S. Pun 1971

16 Production Department 製片部 Andrew Jean 1975

17 Purchasing Department 採購部 Andrew Jean 1975

18 Complex Building 綜合大樓 Andrew Jean 1975

19 Administrative Staff Quarters

行政人員宿舍

Andrew Jean 1977

20 TVB Production Block

多用途電視錄影廠

Eric Cumine 1988

21 TVB House 無線電視大樓 Eric Cumine 1988

22 TVB Prop 無線電視道具房 Denton Corker Marshall

HK

1995

23 Shaw House 邵氏大樓 Johnny C.Y. Lee 1996

15

Historic Building Appraisal

Old Quarry Site Structures

Lei Yue Mun, Kwun Tong, Kowloon

Hong Kong has been well favoured with its building stones. The high quality,

fine-grained granite was commonly used in construction by the time the island of

Hong Kong was taken over by the British in 1841. This situation continued after

the British arrival, with quarries stretching along the northern coastline of the

Island, ranging from Shek Tong Tsui (石塘咀) in the western part to Quarry Bay

(鰂魚涌) and A Kung Ngan (阿公岩) in the east. There were many new colonial

buildings and structures which, at this date, were rich in local granite. Surviving

examples include Flagstaff House and St John’s Cathedral.

The general topography of the villages of Lei Yue Mun (鯉魚門), Ngau Tau

Kok (牛頭角), Sai Cho Wan (茜草灣) and Cha Kwo Ling (茶果嶺) in Kowloon

was quite hilly, offering little arable land for crop growing, but they were rich in

granite. They were well known for the production of stones, and thus got the

name of ‘Si Shan’ (四山, ‘Four Hills’). The Qing government appointed a ‘Tau

Yan’ (頭人) (headman) in each of the ‘Four Hills’ to manage the quarries. There

was a ‘Sze Shan Kung So’ (四山公所, Communal Hall of Four Hills) to discuss

matters relating to stone business. The famous Canton Cathedral (廣州石室) was

built with granite cut in the “Four Hills”.

The British takeover of Kowloon and the New Territories led to a greater

demand of stone for construction. At the time, the more prominent stone-cutting

stores in Lei Yue Mun included Tung Li Tong (同利堂) owned by Ip Wa-shing

(葉華勝) (1844-1914), Tung Tai Tong (同泰堂) owned by Tsang Lam-on (曾林

安) and Tung Fuk Tong (同福堂) owned by Ip Fuk (葉福). Large numbers of

workers and carriers were procured from Wuhua (五華), Huiyang (惠陽),

Meixian (梅縣) and Dongguan (東莞). The quarries remained active until 1941.

Under the Japanese, the stone business came to an abrupt end.

The post-war rehabilitation and development of Hong Kong has resulted in a

massive demand for crushed stone. Shorty after the war, the pre-war Government

quarry at Hok Un (鶴園) was rehabilitated to supply the bulk of the needs for

crushed stone used by the Public Works Department. To tide over the period

whilst new plant was obtained from abroad for the Government quarry at Tsat

Tze Mui (七姊妹), a contract was let in 1946-47 to Messrs. Marsman & Co. for

the supply of crushed stone from Morrison Hill (摩利臣山). Two years later, a

new quarry was set up at Hung Shui Kiu (洪水橋) where crushing units were

installed to produce aggregates for roadworks and military projects in this area of

the New Territories.

Due to the rising demand for crushed stone for building after World War II, it

was found necessary to let permits for the supply of this type of material from

Historical

Interest

N86

16

privately-run quarries. The permits were issued under authority of the District

Officer for the rural area (New Territories) or the Superintendent of Crown

Lands for Kowloon and Hong Kong. Most of the “permit quarries”, managed by

small operators, were labour intensive with much hand working. Rock was

drilled, and explosives placed, by hand by men hanging from ropes on the quarry

face. Hand-held hammers were used to loosen un-blasted rock from the quarry

face. Aggregates might still be made by breaking rock manually with hammers.

In post-war Lei Yue Mun, most of the stone quarries abandoned in 1941 were

being left not re-opened. The coastal land at the toe of Devil’s Peak facing

Lyemun Point became a quarry operated on permit by three firms, namely, Tai

Hing Quarry Co. (大興石廠), Oriental Quarry Co. (東方石廠) and Wong Yin

Quarry Co. (旺賢石廠). Granite was excavated as dressed stone for building

blocks and aggregates in concrete. The seawall in front of North Point Estate (北

角邨) was built in the 1950s with granite cut from this quarry. Initially, the

methods of operation were similar to those described in the previous paragraph.

Later, the use of crusher machines resulted in an increased output of aggregates.

In the heyday, there were 400 workers in the site. The quarry was closed after the

mid-1960s after the expiry of permits.

The coastal land at the toe of Devil’s Peak facing Lyemun Point is littered

with an abundance of granite blocks removed from the quarry face for breaking.

In addition, there are utilitarian structures which are not of great architectural

merits, but should be considered as evidence of the quarrying activities. They are

briefly described below.

1. Jetty: This structure is about 8 or 9 metres wide and stands about 7

metres above sea level at its highest point. It consists of two sloping sides and a

front wall built of granite blocks and concrete. The deck was a slab of

unreinforced concrete originally. Transport was accomplished by truckers

shutting between the jetty and the stockpiles. The ramp decking which projects

out into the sea is collapsed: as the broken pieces are lying in a haphazard

arrangement the jetty is temporarily fenced off from public access.

2. Stone Hut (Checker’s Kiosk) near the Jetty: This is a two-storey stone

hut with a flat concrete roof. The construction of its walls is granite stones laid to

courses. The doorway to the upper storey is unblocked. The doorway and

window openings to the lower storey are blocked. What appear to be the remains

of a concrete balcony can be seen at the rear of the hut. It is difficult without

evidence or corroboration to attribute uses to the various parts of the structure,

but possible uses may have included an office or kiosk for checking the amount

of stones being loaded on to the barges. Stone blocks were counted by tons and

aggregates were counted by cubic yards.

3. Quay and Retention Wall at the western end of the site: The crushed

Architectural

Merit

17

stones which were yet to be loaded onto the stone-boats were stockpiled at this

site. The quay is approximately 3 by 4 metres in plan and stands about 2 metres

above sea level. It is adjoined by remains of a retention wall which is built of

roughly coursed granite blocks and is topped with a concrete slab which has four

equally spaced concreted padstones.

4. Quay and Retention Wall along the southern boundary of the site:

This is another spot where aggregates were held in stockpiles and the stone-boats

could stop to load aggregates. The wall was built of random rubble jointed with

aggregate mortar or concrete. Some through stones or bondstones can been seen

but it is difficult to ascertain the original thickness of the wall as it has been

seriously eroded by the sea.

5. Blockhouse (Overseer’s Office/Watchmen’s Quarters): This structure

like the others is built with coursed rubble walls and flat concrete roofs. It

appears to have been built as a series of annexes and additions constructed at

different times. Ventilation holes or loopholes can be seen in places, but most of

the windows and doors are blocked up. Possible uses of the blockhouse may

have included overseer’s office as well as kitchen and mess for watchmen. Any

of these uses would have been part of the quarry operation or activities.

6. Stone Hut (Dangerous Goods Store): Situated at the eastern end of the

site, this two-storey, flat-roofed structure is built of coursed granite blocks with

concrete slabs forming the floors and roof. Windows and doors are blocked up. It

was a facility for the safe custody of explosive materials used in quarrying. The

hut resembles a watchtower, and there is a saying among historians (not yet

confirmed by documentary sources) that it might have been used as a pillbox to

guard the harbour of Lei Yu Mun Point.

7. Seawall (a site for stockpiling of crushed stone): This wall, built of

random rubble and concrete, is about 2 metres high and extends from the

seashore along the crest of a rocky incline northwards. From 1940s to 1960s, it

was a site for stockpiling of crushed stone. Divided into bays by buttresses built

on the inside face, this wall is architecturally different from the retention walls

described above. It is possible that together with the nearby stone hut it was built

for some military purpose.

8. Curved Stone Wall: One of the most unusual features found at the site

was a curved stone wall which has a battered face and is built of roughly coursed

granite stones. Its function and age is not known. It resembles very much the

ruins of a castle rampart or bastion and like the wall and stone hut at the eastern

end of the site it may have been used for some military purpose such as a gun

battery. It may have been built by the British or the Japanese, or it may date

further back to the Qing Dynasty.

9. Quarry Face: Although not a building, the quarry face is included here

as an evidence of the quarrying activities. The high near-vertical rock faces, in

18

places as high as some 100 feet, suggest that this site was intensively quarried.

Blasting on quarry faces was done by means of explosives that were introduced

into vertical holes, and boring of the holes was accomplished by a tool impacting

upon the rock. Prior to the actual blast which took place between 9am and 11am

or between 3pm and 5pm, the site witnessed display of red flags and sounding of

a copper gong to remove persons from the blast area.

10. Quay for the loading of vessels: This structure is a concrete block

which shows the exposed aggregate and shuttering marks quite clearly. It is

another aggregate storage bay where stone-boats could stop to load aggregates.

11. Quay for the loading of vessels: This is a stone and concrete block

built in front of a stone wall. Its original purpose is not known but it was a quay

for loading aggregate on to the boats from 1940s to 1960s.

12. Concrete Base for a stone crushing plant: This structure is U-shaped,

with what appear to be two chutes and a pit or open chamber behind. It was used

as a base for a stone crushing plant. Energy requirements in crushing were

relatively large, and the crusher was powered by a diesel engine. In the crusher,

the quarried stone blocks were nipped into smaller fragments and reduced to a

specified size range.

13. Concrete Hut (Dangerous Goods Store): This is a small single storey

hut with a flat roof and seems to be constructed of concrete. From 1950s and

1960s, it was used as a storeroom for diesel oil and explosives for quarrying, but

other uses cannot be ruled out, for example, a room for the storage of tools and

equipment, repair and maintenance workshop, blacksmith’s forge, bunkhouse or

bothy.

Most, if not all of the surface features at the site were related to stone

quarrying, but some of them are probably unrelated to quarrying and may

represent earlier periods of activity. They probably served multiple functions and

were manipulated over time by people to perform other tasks as necessitated by

one-going quarrying operations.

Compared to every other known stone quarry, this one in Lei Yu Mun has by

far the most extensive built structures related to quarrying. It is quite rare in

Hong Kong to find a group of old quarry structures like this still existing. Of the

“Four Stone Hills”, Sai Cho Wan was cleared in 1948 for an oil depot which

occupied the site before Laguna City. Ngau Tau Kok has also disappeared: the

village was cleared in 1966 and its hill has been flattened to provide fill for

reclamations. Cha Kwo Ling mainly survive, but the hill behind it has

disappeared some 40 years ago. Although abandoned, the Lei Yue Mun quarry

structures retain their authenticity.

Rarity,

Built Heritage

Value

& Authenticity

19

Rock processing was an important industry in Hong Kong. Until some 30

years ago, all processed stone, usually in the form of granitic aggregates, was

obtained almost entirely from quarries within the territory. It was not until the

late 1970s that additional supplies of aggregates were obtained from quarries in

the Special Economic Zones of the People’s Republic of China.

Difficultues of weight, bulk and removal combined with cheapness of water

transport, have naturally resulted in the location of the quarries being near the

sea front. This seaside quarry remains a reminder of what was once an importnat

local industry. The granite outcrop is a landmark of Lyemun Point. It is well

known to Hong Kong people and a popular spot for sea anglers..

Social Value

& Local

Interest

The old quarry site structures have group value in themselves as a cluster.

Besides, they have group value with the two Tin Hau temples in Ma Wan Tsuen

(Grade 3) and the other one in Cha Kwo Ling (Grade 3) which included a

meeting house for the elders of the “Four Stone Hills”.

Group Value