The art of Huizhou architecture is being featured at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum.

The exhibition showcases more than 120 sets of exquisite wood, brick and stone carvings from Huizhou, Anhui Province.

A selection of models, component parts of buildings, artifacts and furniture from the Anhui Provincial Museum and local designer Kai Yin Lo are included.

Along with a reconstruction of the main hall and study of a typical Huizhou dwelling, the exhibition will give visitors a better understanding of traditional Huizhou -- its beauty and cultured elegance, as well as a taste of the idyllic enclave.

Huizhou architecture is the embodiment of the aesthetic and ethical values of the region, which evolved from its topography. It reflects the Confucian upbringing of the Huizhou merchants, whose practical wit blended perfectly with a serene sense of elegance.

Two well-preserved villages in Huizhou, Xidi and Hongcun, were listed world heritage sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2000.

The exhibition is jointly presented by Hong Kong's Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Anhui Provincial Museum.

Special exhibits

Also on show in the special administrative region are two intricately carved rhinoceros horn cups, reputed to be Chinese national treasures.

They went on display at the Chinese Medicine Council (CMC) of the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) on Thursday.

The two exhibits, a black rhinoceros horn cup carved with a chi dragon motif and a yellow-beige cup carved with a grape motif, belong to Lee Chun-hung, a collector of Chinese medicine.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, President and Vice-Chancellor of the HKBU Ng Ching-fai said it was the university's honour to exhibit the pieces.

Rhinoceros horns were rare even in ancient times, and used to be carved into objects of artistic value or ground down for medicine, he said.

Most surviving examples of the craft date from the Ming and Qing dynasties. As for the medical properties of rhinoceros horn, it is reputedly beneficial for the treatment of high fever and as an antidote for a wide variety of poisons.

The CMC has a collection of over 6,000 medical herb specimens. Distinctive exhibits include the world's tallest herba cistanches with a height of 1.75 metres.

(China Daily April 19, 2005)