Hong Kong's first UNESCO-awarded hotel, Tai O Heritage Hotel, celebrated the Lunar New Year with the community in style with its annual Open House. Held on 8 and 9 February 2025, the hotel welcomed more than 2,300 visitors from Hong Kong and overseas, and celebrated Lunar New Year on an auspicious note in Hong Kong’s charming fishing village.
The hotel has incorporated AR (Augmented Reality) technology into docent tours for the first time, offering visitors an innovative and enriched way to appreciate the history of the heritage landmark. Young ambassadors, who have received training from local cultural enterprise Walk in Hong Kong, served as docents and shared with visitors captivating stories about the Grade II historic building.
In celebration of the Lunar New Year, the hotel has joined hands with the Tai O community to present public art installations suffused with good wishes. The auspicious community art piece, Spinning Good Wishes for the Year of the Snake, features a stunning assembly of 138 colourful windmills, which symbolise the turning of fortunes in traditional culture, extending wishes for happiness. Meanwhile, Auspicious Blessings Lanterns showcases 18 beautiful lanterns vis-à-vis the picturesque coast, boding harmony, prosperity and a prosperous year. Additionally, students of Buddhist Fat Ho Memorial College presented lion dance performances, extending blessings for the most important festival for the Chinese community.
On the back of the very positive feedback, Tai O Heritage Hotel has partnered with the Tai O Cultural Association to present ‘Traditional Sampan Experience’ for the second consecutive year. Participants went on a scenic journey through Tai O’s waterways, reliving the maritime tradition of the old days.
This year, the hotel and Tai O Cultural Association has presented a new offering, ‘Traditional Fishing Net Weaving Workshop’, through which Tai O fishermen taught participants to weave modern fishing net products using the traditional craft, enabling guests to experience the indigenous fishing village culture.
‘We are thankful for the opportunity to present the cultural significance of Tai O Heritage Hotel and Tai O through the Government’s Revitalising Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme, and would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the local community for their amazing support on this remarkable journey. I would like to sincerely thank our community partners for delivering memorable experiences for our guests and to our colleagues and volunteers for their good efforts. May I take this opportunity to wish all a blessed, prosperous and healthy new year,’ remarks Mr Daryl Ng, SBS, JP, Director of the Hong Kong Heritage Conservation Foundation.
Tai O Heritage Hotel, converted from the Old Tai O Police Station completed in 1902 and designated as a Grade II historic building, seeks to preserve the historical significance of the architectural gem. Operated as a not-for-profit social enterprise with surpluses used to support site maintenance, the hotel has been working closely with the community to promote eco-tourism. Since opening in March 2012, it has welcomed more than 2 million visitors from Hong Kong and overseas, and have participated in more than 100 festivities and community services.
