Sung Wong Toi Station To Feature Unearthed Relics

The MTR Corporation said on Wednesday that archaeological discoveries unearthed during the construction of the new Sung Wong Toi station on the Tuen Ma line will eventually be displayed at the station, but one district councillor said he suspects the vast majority of relics that were uncovered won’t be exhibited at all.

The station is due to finally open on June 27 – after the discovery of wells and a “large number” of other excavated relics dating back to the Song-Yuan period delayed construction by nearly a year and added HK$3 billion to the project’s price tag.

At a tour of the soon-to-be opened station, officials said there will be an exhibition of the artefacts within the station, but didn’t say when it will be ready or what exactly will be included.

“Showcases are provided for displaying the on-site archaeological finds in the concourse of the station… Discussion regarding the display arrangements with the Antiquities and Monuments Office is underway,” a press release said.

A well and water channel dated to the Song-Yuan period will be re-instated above the station – so the station’s roof has been modified to form a “concrete trough”

Passengers will be able to view the bottom of the well through a transparent glass panel in the ceiling of the station’s concourse.

One Kowloon City district councillor who was given a tour of the facility was unimpressed with the offering.

“It is just one well. They discovered much more than that. The discovered a village from the Song dynasty,” said Ken Tsang, who represents the To Kwa Wan constituency.

“To avoid the construction to be delayed, the way they do is just to cover it up, to ignore it. And the government actually allow them to ignore all the discoveries. So things are still underneath, under the soil,” he said.

Tsang accused officials of being in too much of a rush to open the new station, noting that an exit of the station will remain closed when the station opens later in the month as a connecting bridge is still being built.

Tsang said he understands the MTR had to alter its plans by building a bridge instead of a tunnel, in order to preserve any relics that may still be in the soil, but says the shuttered exit will be an “inconvenience” to the public.