Located adjacent to Kun Ting Study Hall in Hang Mei Tsuen, Ping Shan, Ching Shu Hin was built by Tang Heung-chuen and his sons in the thirteenth year of Tongzhi reign of Qing dynasty (1874) to provide accommodation for renowned scholars and other guests visiting the study hall. Guests hosted by Ching Shu Hin include Sir Cecil Clementi, the seventeenth Governor of Hong Kong, prominent merchant and early Chinese leader Sir Robert Ho Tung, and Tang Chi-ngong and Fung Ping-shan, patrons of the School of Chinese of The University of Hong Kong.

Ching Shu Hin is a two-storey building with an L-shaped layout. Although it is an individual building, there is a passage on its upper level connecting it to the adjoining Kun Ting Study Hall, which allowed teachers staying in it to reach the study hall conveniently to conduct lessons. As Ching Shu Hin was established to host renowned scholars and other distinguished guests, the Tang clan hired specially builders and craftsmen from Foshan and Guangzhou to construct it. The exquisite wood carvings, plaster mouldings and mural paintings in Ching Shu Hin are the epitome of artistry in Lingnan traditional architecture. The decorations of Ching Shu Hin also display Western elements, which are exemplaries of the grandeur and elegance of traditional Chinese mansions of the local gentry.

Along the entrance porch of Ching Shu Hin are five pairs of title boards with the inscriptions, “Grandfather and grandson, father and son, brother siblings, and uncle and nephew, passing the Imperial Civil Service Examinations” and “Father and son, and brother siblings passing the Imperial Civil Service Examinations” manifesting the achievements of the descendants of Tang Shui-tai, the twentieth generation ancestor of the clan, who obtained degrees in both civil and military Imperial Civil Service Examinations. Another title board, with the inscription "Both grandfather and grandson obtained civil and military degrees in the Jiazi Imperial Civil Service Examinations”, refers to the achievements of Tang Shui-tai and his grandson Tang Wai-yuk. The grandfather passed the Jiazi military Imperial Civil Service Examinations in fifteenth place, obtaining the degree of wujuren, in the ninth year of Jiaqing reign of Qing dynasty (1804). Sixty years later, the grandson obtained the degree of juren, ranking forty-first in the Imperial Civil Service Examinations in the third year of Tongzhi reign of Qing dynasty (1864). This shows that the Tang clan of Ping Shan emphasised both scholarly and military pursuits and highly valued education, while reflecting the extraordinary achievements of the clansmen in the Imperial Civil Service Examinations. A set of couplets in the main hall, encourages clansmen to be kind and perform benevolent deeds, was written by Lin Zhao-tang, one of the top three zhuangyuan (principal graduate of the Imperial Civil Service Examinations) in Guangdong during Qing dynasty. It illustrates the connection between the Tang clan of Ping Shan and scholars in Guangdong in the past.

During the Japanese Occupation, the Tang clan of Ping Shan converted Ching Shu Hin into a temporary shelter and transit point, providing accommodation and food to Hong Kong compatriots fleeing to the Mainland to escape the war. According to clan elders, many groups of people fled to the Mainland via Ching Shu Hin, the total number could be close to 6,000. This exemplifies the patriotic spirit of the Tang clan of Ping Shan, offering help to fellow compatriots in times of adversity during the Japanese Invasion.

Opening Hours:
Monday to Sunday: 9am - 1pm and 2pm - 5pm
Closed on the first three days of Chinese New Year

Address:
Nos. 104, 109 Hang Mei Tsuen, Ping Shan, Yuen Long, New Territories.

Enquiry Hotline:
(852) 2208 4488