Imagine hearing both the percussive strains of Indonesian Gamelan music and a violin passage from the romantic “Butterfly Lovers” by Liang Zhu coming through circular latticed windows, along a red carpeted staircase, over white wooden railings on the upper floor and echoing around the snowy white dome of the Hung Hing Ying Building – this might have been any given day, when it was home to the Department of Music¹.

Opened in 1919, this neoclassical red-brick building was constructed with the support of Sir Catchick Paul Chater and Professor G P Jordan, the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the University at the time and others. It housed the Hong Kong University Union, which comprised students, teachers and university staff (and a prototype for the Students’ Union), and organised recreational activities and cared for the needs of the HKU community.

Over its long history, the building has seen the highs and low of life at the University: the Second World War left bullet marks and physical damage; there was the grandeur of the post-war period when it was home to the University’s central offices, including its finance and administrative departments; and as the Senior Common Room (1974-1989) there would be the aroma of the freshly brewed coffee at breakfast, fried noodles and rice at lunch, and Sherry during afternoon tea – serving up relaxing and memorable moments.

Of course, the most important part of the building’s history may be its name – given in 1986 in recognition of the generous support of Mr Hung Hing Ying's family to the development of the University. At present, the upper floor of the building houses the Development and Alumni Affairs Office (DAAO) and the HKU Foundation Chamber.

The exterior of the Hung Hing Ying Building was declared a historical monument in 1995. Some of the building’s most striking features are its white central dome, entrance portico and balanced architectural proportions. At its centre is an impressive rotunda flanked by two wings, and in each of these blocks there is a tall chimney on the south elevation and colonnaded verandas on the north.

The history of this century-old building has come together like a magnificent opus and its composition is ongoing. Have you ever been a part of it?

¹ The Department of Music gradually moved into the building in mid-1995. In January 2013, it was relocated to the Faculty of Arts' current home, the Run Run Shaw Tower.