Saving Old Trees In Hong Kong

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31107, 9 July 1966, Page 13

Saving Old Trees In Hong Kong

a "Sydney Morning Correspondent tn Hong Kong / ■INLY one thing is permitted to stand Bn the way of progress Bn Hong Kong. That Bs an old tree. The ■long Kong GovernBnent, when it recently ■announced the notification of a major road ■system by eliminating n fly-over, gave as its ■reasons that it would ■save a million dollars, ■that traffic lights ■would be almost as ■effective, and that it ■would save cutting down two fine old banyans. Most people in Hong Kong iccepted the third reason as he decisive one. The trees lave stood for many years nd they have survived yphoons of 150 miles an lour on at least four iccasions this century. And hey give the major road connecting the Peak with the sity a touch of grace and neauty—and greenery—in an irea which is rapidly being swamped by concrete. I It is an offence to cut down trees in Hong Kong, and only with the written permission of the Governor is it possible to waive this rule. In the post-war years the Government has spent thousands of dollars trying to preserve old trees in the built-up areas of the colony. Fine Rosewood In front of the Colonial Secretariat is a fine old Burmese rosewood which posed a problem when the new Secretariat was built nine years ago. The Government wanted to build an underground garage which would involve disturbing the roots. The tree was saved by building a concrete wall round the roots. At the opposite end of the building two old banyan trees interfered with a roadwidening scheme. A traffic island was built round them and today they stand there still in the middle of the road. So a new road to link the central district of Hong Kong with the main Peak road has been designed so that it runs along a grove of tall kapok trees which in spring are a blaze of waxy red flowers. Appropriately it will be called Kapok drive. Failures When a luxury hotel was built recently it had to be' designed in such a way as to incorporate an old banyan tree outside its main entrance. Attempts to save a number of graceful old trees alongside the hotel failed, however, when the trees died after the building was completed. Hong Kong’s main road, Queen's road, was once flanked by trees, but streetwidening schemes have eliminated all of them and many other tree-lined streets were denuded when people chopped down trees for firewood during the Japanese occupation. In Kowloon, the main road, Nathan road, is still flanked by the banyans which were planted when the British came more than 100 years ago. On Carriageway These trees were planted when the local administrators had no idea of how wide modern roads would be, and today they are not on the pavement but on the carriageway itself. Not only the Government, but the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation also is tree-minded. At one

time two tall Sentinel palms flanked the main entrance of the bank’s head office. When a typhoon blew one down 10 years ago, the bank was reminded of an old Chinese prophecy which said “When the palms go the bank will

close down.” Off went a request to the Singapore office to send up two new palms and today both palms —and the bank —are thriving. There have been many complaints about old trees in some parts of the colony causing obstruction, but a number of residents are considering forming a society to preserve them. Recent Losses There has been much wanton destruction of trees in recent years with the demolition of old buildings and the massive rebuilding

programme, and even the Government has been forced at times to cut trees down to make way for new road junctions or street widening schemes.

It is not that Hong Kong is deficient in trees. Its steep hillsides which make up more than a quarter of the total area of the colony are covered in a rich variety including pine, banyan, camphor and Moreton Bay fig. Many are flowering varieties and there are unique natural hybrids such as the camellia granthamiana with its fiveinch blooms and the bauhinia blakeana, known as the Hong

Kong orchid tree, which make the colony a botanist’s delight

Tradition

In addition, the traditional Chinese belief that the disposition of buildings, graves, trees, water and mountains may affect a person’s fortune and destiny have done much to preserve fine groves of trees and clumps of bamboo in many parts of the New Territories.

But it is the city that is losing its trees and to make up for thq many that succumb to vandals, typhoons or

building schemes, the Government is engaged in a massive beautification scheme in the colony’s sprawling suburbs many of which lack any sign of greenery. To plant the trees speedily, the Government has bought a tree-moving machine which digs holes, drops in the tree and pours back soil on the roots. But it will not be until 1973 that local nurseries are able to turn out the 4000 15-20 ft trees a year needed to plant in the urban areas. The picture shows two trees which were saved by building a traffic island round them.