Chik Kwai Study Hall

Chik Kwai Study Hall is a typical traditional Chinese study hall built before 1899 by Mr Lai Kam-tai. The study hall was built for both ancestor worship and educating young clansmen, and in the Qing dynasty's traditional two-hall-one-courtyard architectural style. The façade of the green-brick study hall is distinguished by the solemn granite-block wall base and the overhanging roof supported by ornamental brackets, camel humps and granite columns. The roof ridge of the entrance hall is decorated with polychrome mouldings depicting the theme of "carp jumps over the dragon gate". All the exquisitely craved camel humps and eaves boards in the interiors are devoted to the themes of traditional Chinese folk stories and auspicious motifs. A wooden altar is placed at the main hall of the study hall for accommodating the soul tablets of the ancestors of the Lais. The study hall is exceptional due to the well-preserved architectural components of the building, such as the ornate woodcarvings, the plaster mouldings on the roof ridges and gable walls, and the traditional Chinese murals. Chik Kwai Study Hall is a declared monument.