A hidden gem : rediscovering the horse racing culture of the grand stand at the Happy Valley Race Course in Hong Kong

Abstract

The horse racing culture in Hong Kong represents one of the core values in this city. As Deng Xiaoping, former chairman of the central advisory commission mentioned “Horse racing will continue, and dancing parties will go on” in the 1997 handover, has already illustrated the status of Hong Kong’s horse racing culture in the local community. However, as technologies rapidly developed, horse racing in Hong Kong has been recognised as an old-fashioned entertainment in the recent years. The lack of the young generation’s participation in the horse racing event will soon threaten the horse racing culture in Hong Kong. In this dissertation, the Happy Valley Grandstand, which is the oldest racecourse in Hong Kong, will be adopted as the field study area on the horse racing culture in Hong Kong, by investigating the interaction between the tangible and intangible heritage elements in the Happy Valley Grandstand, and authenticate the interrelationship between both heritage elements that constitute the spirit of place in the Happy Valley Grandstand. This dissertation investigates the strong interrelationship between the tangible and intangible heritage elements in the Happy Valley Grandstand. The precious horse racing knowledge, language and tradition discovered from the research will provide powerful evidence to establish the Hong Kong’s horse racing culture as a case for intangible cultural heritage status.