On 27 August 2022, the Symposium on Countryside Conservation and Rural Revitalization was successfully held as one of the events celebrating the 111th Anniversary of the University of Hong Kong (HKU). Co-organized by the Centre of Urban Studies and Urban Planning (CUSUP) of HKU and a Countryside Conservation Funding Scheme (CCFS) project team led by Prof Shenjing He, the Symposium brought together many experts in the field of rural research and rural revitalization from Mainland China and Hong Kong. It also served as a concluding event for the CCFS project ‘Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Conservation and Revitalisation in Hing Chun Yeuk Seven Villages, Kuk Po and Fung Hang, Hong Kong’, led by Prof Shenjing He, Head of the Department of Urban Planning and Design, HKU.

The seminar was chaired by Prof Bo-sin Tang, Director of CUSUP, HKU. Over 500 participants joined in physically or virtually, including government officials, scholars, urban planners, members from the tourism industry, and local villagers.

Prof Shen jing He: ‘Building a Modern Yeu kin Hong Kong’s Countryside: the case of Yan Chau Tong’ 

The first speaker was Prof Shenjing He, Head of the Department of Urban Planning and Design and Founding Director of the Social Infrastructure for Equity and Wellbeing (SIEW) Lab, HKU, and Principal Investigator of the CCFS project ‘Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Conservation and Revitalisation in Hing Chun Yeuk Seven Villages, Kuk Po and Fung Hang, Hong Kong’. With a vision of ‘Building a Modern Yeuk’, Prof He introduced the ‘Yeuk’ history in China as a basic self-organization system and social norm emphasizing mutual help and reciprocity​, and the changes in the rural Yeuk organization in Hong Kong. By explaining the key programmes of agro ecosystem, eco-tourism, village circular economy, and community building, Prof He stressed the value of Modern Yeuk as a mode of polycentric governance for incorporating ancient ecological and social wisdoms into the modern socialeconomic system.

Prof Cheng wei Huang: ‘National Rural Revitalization Strategies in China’

The second speaker was Prof Cheng wei Huang, Director of the Poverty Alleviation and Development Centre of the State Council and Director of the Poverty Governance Centre at Peking University. From a policy-making perspective, Prof Huang explained the significance of rural revitalization strategy and the goals of rural revitalization, and presented key working areas, including consolidating the achievements of poverty alleviation, developing rural industries, implementing rural constructions, improving rural governance, deepening rural reform, and strengthening the overall leadership of the Communist Party, etc.

Prof Tiejun Wen: ‘The Transmutation of Ecological Strategy and Rural Revitalization’

The third speaker was Prof Tiejun Wen, Director of Rural Revitalization Centre at Peking University, Chairman and Chief Researcher of the Academic Committee of Institute for Rural Revitalization Research at Jinan University, and Executive Dean of Institute of Rural Reconstruction of China at Southwest University. Prof Wen stressed the importance of rural revitalization strategy in managing potential domestic and foreign risks from a macro political, economic, and financial perspective. Heal so mentioned the need to break away from the conventional narratives about urbanization and industrialization, and take human-centred ecological design as a transformation approach, so as to realize the integrated design in rural revitalization.

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Prof Jinlong Liu: ‘Community Building in Rural Revitalization’

The fourth speaker was Prof Jinlong Liu of the School of Agriculture Economics and Rural Development, Renmin University of China. Through introducing diversified types of rural community building projects, Prof Liu explained that rural community mechanisms could help fill the vacuum of grassroots participation amidst rural governance dynamics in suburban areas. Prof Liu also mentioned that through the coordinated efforts from scholars in Hong Kong and Mainland China, the ‘China Innovative Urban-Rural Governance Research Network’ had been established to further the contributions from grassroots governance research to inform rural revitalization.

Prof Stephen Tang: ‘Countryside Conservation and Urban-Rural Symbiosis’

The fifth speaker was Prof Stephen Tang, Head of the Countryside Conservation Office (CCO), Environmental Protection Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government. Prof Tang introduced the development of Hong Kong’s rural conservation policy and CCO’S working strategies, that since its establishment in 2018, CCO has been committed to promoting implementation of minor improvement projects (such as village paths, environmental-friendly smart toilets, sewage systems, etc.); subsidising and supporting the Countryside Conservation Funding Scheme; and assisting in business licence applications (such as guesthouses and restaurants) in rural regions.

Prof Weijen Wang: ‘Kuk-Po Vision: Architecture, Landscape, and Community through an Acupuncture Strategy’

The sixth speaker was Prof Weijen Wang from the Department of Architecture, HKU. His research focuses on Chinese architecture and cities, including the transformation of courtyard typology, urban fabric and public space in historical and contemporary Chinese cities, and the typology of the Chinese temple. As the leader of another CCFS project, Prof Wang introduced his current working progress in Kuk-Po Village, such as renovating village schools for exhibitions, building ecological toilets, restoring ruined gardens and village houses. Prof Wang also expressed his hope to better promote the organic integration between low-density green space and high-density urban landscape in Hong Kong through acupuncture-style micro-renewal.

Dr Jin Zhu: ‘Planning and Practice in Yan Chau Tong 9 Villages’

The final speaker was Dr Jin Zhu, Assistant Professor from the Department of Urban Planning and Design and the Departmentof Real Estate and Construction, HKU. He is also the co-investigator of the CCFS Project led by Prof Shenjing He. In the Symposium, Dr Zhu introduced the research background, as well as the main research activities and outputs of the project as enveloped in ‘Three studies, Three Reports, and Two Interactive Platforms’. He presented the progressive research process from concept plan to action plan and facility plan, while also introducing the interactive platforms, i.e., the mobile application ‘Visit YCT’ and the project website: https://www.modernyeuk.hku.hk/.

RoundTable and Q&A Session

The round table discussion and Q&A session were chaired by Prof Shenjing He, who invited all the speakers to discuss how to better promote the incorporation of Hong Kong’s rural revitalization efforts into the national rural revitalization strategy and ecological civilization, and how to facilitate the integration of traditional rural ecological wisdom with modern social and economic systems. The chair and speakers, online audience, and on-site participants also shared their views on the future work of rural revitalization in Hong Kong and Mainland China.

Epilogue

In recent years, Hong Kong has heavily invested in a number of projects in the field of countryside conservation. However, the coordination with Mainland China in terms of policy-making and implementation is still lacking. This symposium provides an opportunity for experts and scholars from Hong Kong and Mainland China to exchange ideas, allowing rural stakeholders from different backgrounds to engage in dialogue at both theoretical and implementation levels. The CCFS project team hopes that policymakers in Hong Kong and the Mainland will continue the dialogue after this symposium, so as to better understand and evaluate their work from both sides. The project team will also make further efforts to promote the incorporation of Hong Kong’s rural conservation work into the overall development framework of the national rural revitalization strategy and ecological civilization construction.

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