In the early 20th century Cheung Chau was found to be the perfect setting for a holiday home for missionaries and other Europeans serving in China, avoiding the expense of returning to the homeland for a summer holiday each year. Cheung Chau properties offered cooling sea breezes, attractive vistas and isolation at a fraction of the cost of similar facilities in Hong Kong, and in 1909-10 cheap plots and labour saw a flurry of building on the island.
House #5 may have gone up at this time, and situated on a hilltop, had these benefits in spades.
In 1938 the owner of House #5 was recorded as T W Pearse (London Mission), assumed to be Thomas William Pearce, who served in China and Hong Kong for the London Missionary Society at that time.
House #5 may well have suffered during the war what other European houses suffered, ie being stripped by the locals of all wood for fuel, and then blown up by the Japanese as being western-owned.
The site is now the home of the Caritas Jockey Club Ming Fai Camp, a charity whose aim is to offer campers (youths, adults, families) activities that support their physical, mental, and social well-being.
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Photos that show this Place
