Race Course Fire Memorial, Memorial at Happy Valley, Hong Kong
The Race Course Fire Memorial is a monument at Happy Valley in Hong Kong featuring a seven-storey central gateway with four pillars, three archways, and three granite niches containing marble memorial plaques. Two octagonal pavilions with fixed granite tables and benches sit on the grounds.
A fire at the Happy Valley Racecourse in 1918 caused the deaths of more than 600 people. Tung Wah Hospital organized the burials and commissioned this memorial to honor those who perished.
The memorial blends Eastern and Western design traditions, with traditional glazed roof tiles alongside classical granite stonework from Europe. Visitors encounter architecture that reflects the city's history as a meeting place of different worlds.
The memorial stands on the hillside above Causeway Road in So Kon Po, reached by a small path climbing from the left side of Hong Kong Stadium. It is open 8am-12pm and 1pm-4pm daily, closing on the first three days of the Lunar New Year. The only access road was damaged by fallen trees during Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018, leaving the site unreachable for a time.
The memorial stands within the "Wu Wu Race Course Victims' Cemetery" in Coffee Garden, where all the dead were buried. Its central plaque lists the names of the victims, and a couplet on the gate pillars reads: "Where do the horses' hooves neigh among the burnt grass; the travellers' dreams find rest beyond the embers."
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,086 contributors worldwide.