HONG KONG

During Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong in World War II, Béthanie was also occupied, and hence couldn’t continue its operations as a catholic sanatorium. After the Japanese left, catholics were banned from spreading catholicism in China, hence Béthanie was forced to close down. In 1974, the French Mission sold Béthanie to HongKong Land, but a year later, HongKong Land decided that the site was too difficult to transform into a useful plot of land, hence the Hong Kong government decided that the complex would be demolished. However, in 1981, Béthanie was saved because of its historical significance and declared a Grade II historical building in Hong Kong, and was turned over to its neighbour, the University of Hong Kong to store its publisher’s books until the handover of Hong Kong in 1997.

In 2003, the Legislative Council approved the restoration of Béthanie by allowing the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts to use the site as part of their campus after 3 years of investigation of the complex. The restoration process was completed in 2006, and is now a world-class film and television school that still retains the traditional architecture that belonged to Béthanie. In addition to the academic facilities, Béthanie has an exhibition hall, a chapel, a museum and two performance venues.