Neoclassical Grade 3 historic building｜Former Fanling Magistrates' Courts｜Witness the development of Hong Kong's judicial system

The former Fanling Magistrates' Courts was opened in 1961 and was the first magistrates' court in the New Territories. In 2002, as the court's facilities were insufficient to meet the needs of current court operations, the government relocated the court to a new court building nearby and the old court has been vacant since then. The construction of the court building witnessed the development of Hong Kong's judicial system and has a certain historical value. It was listed as a Grade 3 historic building in Hong Kong by the Antiquities and Monuments Office in 2010. In 2012, the "Revitalization" plan was adopted to retain many original architectural details and it was transformed into the Hong Kong Youth Association Leadership Academy. It officially opened on March 31, 2019.

Building Characteristics
The Former Fanling Magistrates’ Courts Building is a typical government building from the 1950s. It is relatively small in scale, with only two storeys high and two courtrooms inside. The front facade mainly features slightly outward-extending double-layer canopies and multi-storey high narrow windows, showing a simplified neoclassical architectural style, highlighting the solemn nature of the court. The side exterior walls also have door frames and corbels with neoclassical architectural features.

When designing the former Fanling Magistrates' Courts, the architects had carefully designed three independent passages, one for the magistrate, the public, the police and the defendant; the entrances were located in three different locations. The intersection of the three independent passages is inside the courtroom, which ensures that the magistrate will not be disturbed by the public or the defendant before the trial.

In addition to seeing the buildings of the former Fanling Magistrates’ Courts that have been preserved after revitalization, you can also learn about the development of Hong Kong’s judicial system from the information on display!

Tour route:
Prison van parking area > Escort passage and detention room > Courtroom No. 2 (maintaining the original appearance of the courtroom) > Former magistrate's corridor > Former magistrate's office > Entrance of Courtroom No. 1 (not open to the public) > Revitalized payment counter (nursery corridor)

Personally, I think this is also the most beautiful place in the entire court building. It feels like you can travel back to the 1950s through this semi-open-air corridor! The composition of taking photos by the window is also beautiful!

Former Fanling Magistrates' Courts
Address: 302 Jockey Club Road, Fanling, New Territories
Opening hours:
Training Building - Monday to Sunday 10:00-18:00
(Last admission: 17:30)
Garden-Mon-Sun 08:00-21:00
Transportation: MTR Fanling Station Exit C, about 5 minutes walk to the destination

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