Sustaining the intangible cultural heritage : the traditions of Yue Lan Festival in the redevelopment of Ngau Tau Kok Estate

by Wong, Kwok-hing

(Uncorrected OCR) Abstract of Dissertation entitled Sustaining the Intangible Cultural Heritage: The Traditions of Yue Lan Festival in the Redevelopment of Ngau Tau Kok Estate submitted by Wong Kwok Hing, Dominic For the degree of Master of Science in Conservation at The University of Hong Kong in September 2004 Nowadays people mis-interpret the Yue Lan (JEW) Festival as a superstitious traditional festival. However the deep meanings of the festival about contemplation, repentance, filial piety and salvation are often neglected. The ritual Yue Lan celebration held annually at the Lower Ngau Tau Kok (NTK) Estate, Kowloon is a social, cultural and religious event, representing an intangible cultural heritage that helps to foster community participation and strengthen the community identity. In the Redevelopment of NTK Estate, the concept of sustainable community was put forward by the Housing Department. To enhance social sustainability, conserving the Yue Lan traditions in the redevelopment was explored but it was found that the master planning was incompatible with the requirements of holding the ritual Yue Lan celebration due to the inadequacy of existing heritage conservation policy and the lack of awareness of the importance of heritage conservation. The dissertation starts with the studies of history, socio-cultural context of the NTK Estate, followed by the thorough research on the relationships between Yue Lan activities, physical built environment and social context. Then the design work for the Redevelopment with respect to sustaining the Yue Lan traditions was critically reviewed. Constrains and inadequacies were identified and finally recommendations were proposed. The dissertation aims at showing that sustaining the intangible cultural heritage can enhance social sustainability of a community in a public housing estate.