How Hong Kong’s 91-year-old Haw Par Mansion will transform into new cultural hub

Perched above the streets of Tai Hang, the 91-year-old Haw Par Mansion has stood as a watchman to Hong Kong’s evolving history. The mansion and its front garden are the only remaining sections of what was once a sprawling estate and theme park built in the 1930s by the Aw family of Tiger Balm ointment fame. They are striking examples of the period’s architectural hybridity, often called the Chinese Renaissance style. From 2019 to 2022, the restored mansion was used by a music school that the Aw family had set up. After it closed, the government started seeking a new steward for the protected Grade 1 historic building. In August 2025, it was announced that a non-profit called the Foundation for Art and Culture (FAC) had won the tender to operate the site starting in the second half of 2026 under a self-financing model to promote arts and culture and to foster international exchanges. As its new chapter is set to begin, the South China Morning Post recently visited Villa Haw Par, the name under which it will reopen, and spoke to two key figures about their plans. FAC co-founder Arthur de Villepin, best known for the Villepin gallery on Hollywood Road, says the foundation is not planning to turn the legendary mansion into a museum like the Tiger Balm Gardens in China’s Fujian province, or a theme park like Haw Par Villa in Singapore. Instead, it will become a “living space” with cultural programming such as international artist residencies and film screenings, and features such as a bookstore. He says he has drawn inspiration from New York’s Villa Albertine, which hosts over 80 global artists every year, and Rome’s Villa Medicis, an academy funded by the French Ministry of Culture that functions as both a public heritage site and an artist’s residence. The plan is to renovate Haw Par’s second-floor bedrooms so that they can house two or three resident artists for three months at a time, then cut deals with local hotels to help increase that number to between 10 and 20, including both international and Hong Kong artists. “The long-term ambition is to have a decentralised programme where we can also showcase Hong Kong artists in residencies abroad,” de Villepin says. Plans for Villa Haw Par include installing a cinema within the master bedroom, opening a bookshop on the ground floor near the exit, and converting the rooftop’s greenhouse-like structure into a cafe featuring an outdoor terrace with views of the surrounding hills and harbour. However, major renovation work is yet to begin. In a departure from traditional projects that aim for a 100 per cent complete opening day, the team is committed to a phased development, with artist residencies not scheduled until next year. The foundation is also adopting a “slowing down to go faster” philosophy that prioritises finding the “right partner” over standard commercial options for its cinema, bookstore and cafe. For the September opening, the team will focus on returning the mansion to its original essence by removing music-school-era soundproofing walls and polishing up the garden. “The key of what we want to do is actually grow the project together with the Hong Kong community,” de Villepin says. “We want to use this house as a canvas for the resident artists … and all the artists can participate in the restoration of this house.” The FAC was among five organisations – including the Design Trust – that submitted proposals during the government’s tendering process in late 2024, which invited non-profits to put forward their plans for the mansion. It was selected to manage Haw Par for a term of three years on a non-profit-making and self-financing basis. “I think what made the FAC stand out [among the other proposals] was our persistence and wanting to keep the DNA of the space – to continue perpetuating the historical and cultural aspect of the space while bringing something new,” says Sara Mao, executive director of Villa Haw Par – a subsidiary non-profit body created under the FAC dedicated to the heritage site – and an experienced auctioneer. When seeking advice for their proposal, the team partnered up with the Centre of National Monuments in France, which has conserved, restored and manages over 100 historic monuments in the country, to learn how to best preserve and restore the site. De Villepin – who is the son of former French prime minister Dominique de Villepin – and FAC executive director Julien-Loic Garin, a former CEO of the French May Arts Festival, also reached out to Hong Kong’s Consulate General of France, to bring the residency to life together. Hong Kong’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Antiquities and Monuments Office (OMA), Commissioner for Heritage’s Office, and Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau are also directly involved. Fundraising is always a challenge, Mao says, but it has been particularly tricky this year with economic uncertainty around the world. Additionally, she says that the government’s Revitalisation Scheme, which had offered a grant of HK$5 million (US$640,000) to support Haw Par’s previous managing body, has since changed to a self-financing scheme after Haw Par was transferred from the Development Bureau to the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. Meanwhile, the project’s phased approach has also made it difficult to attract investors, who can struggle to grasp the long-term vision. “So it’s a little bit hard to say exactly which funding partners [we have], because we are still developing and working on potential events and activations at the house.” The foundation has so far secured support from partners including the French consulate, but is seeking more. Mao assures that the slower renovation process is not due to funding reasons, but instead the thorough bureaucratic approval process. “We need to submit a conservation management plan and we need the OMA to approve it. We also need the building department to approve certain processes before we can continue,” she says. The Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau declined to comment on why renovations have yet to start despite the September opening date. The process is slow but necessary, according to Mao and de Villepin. After all, de Villepin founded the FAC with the belief that “culture should sit closer to places of power” – that it should align with the government’s long-term visions on how to transform Hong Kong as a platform for Chinese culture to grow abroad. The team will proceed to open in September both as part of the government’s mandate to open to the public by the end of the year and to strategically coincide with the celebratory periods of the Mid-Autumn Festival and mainland China’s Golden Week public holidays. “Since I’ve arrived in Hong Kong, my dream project was this kind of project,” says de Villepin, who moved to the city in 2010. He believes it is perfectly aligned with the FAC’s mission to foster cultural exchanges between East and West. Villa Haw Par is poised to serve as an “Embassy for Culture”, according to its public announcements, advancing a goal of the national government’s 15th five-year plan of establishing Hong Kong as a premier international cultural hub. More concrete plans about the opening will be revealed soon as the FAC works to secure further partnerships and confirm renovation plans, the team promises.

How Hong Kong’s 91-year-old Haw Par Mansion will transform into new cultural hub

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Once the anchor of the iconic Tiger Balm Garden, the restored Grade 1 historic building will start a new chapter as Villa Haw Par this year

Once the anchor of the iconic Tiger Balm Garden, the restored Grade 1 historic building will start a new chapter as Villa Haw Par this year