page_title: Fanling Lodge
section_title: Official residence
hierarchical_section_title: Fanling Lodge / Official residence
caption_attribution_description: 中文（香港）‎: 舊總督山頂別墅及守衛室（約1900年代）。
context_page_description: Fanling Lodge is an official residence of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, which serves as a country house and occasionally hosts official functions. Built in 1934 as a summer residence for the then Governor of Hong Kong, Fanling Lodge was granted a Grade I historic building status in 2014, amid concerns about its inclusion within a new town development plan.
context_section_description: In 1932, citing the high expense for repairs and maintenance on Mountain Lodge, the summer residence of the Governor of Hong Kong on Victoria Peak, Governor Sir William Peel proposed constructing a new summer residence in Fanling. Completed in 1934, Fanling Lodge served as a weekend and holiday retreat for the Governors of Hong Kong. Mountain Lodge was eventually demolished in 1946. Fanling Lodge remained as an official government residence after the handover in 1997 and as of 2015 remains the alternate residence of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong.
  A helicopter pad (WB16) is located on the lawn of the home and allows the Chief Executive to travel to the lodge from Government House, the main Hong Kong residence.
  Tung Chee-hwa, the first Chief Executive of Hong Kong, was criticized by the Democratic Party at the end of 1997 for not using Fanling Lodge. Critics demanded that he consider giving up this government property. Since that time, the relevance of Fanling Lodge as an official residence has been questioned recurrently during Legislative Council debates. Opponents object that the provision of such a residence to the Chief Executive is an unnecessary perk, and that another use should be found for the building.
  At the end of 1997, the combined upkeep cost of Fanling Lodge and Government House, both seldom used, was HK$13 million a year. About 58 domestic staff were employed to maintain the two official residences. It was reported in 2005, at the beginning of the tenure of Donald Tsang as Chief Executive, that two permanent staff were employed at Fanling Lodge. The maintenance cost incurred by the Architectural Services Department for the upkeep of the Lodge amounted to HK$856,000 for the 2010–2015 period.
caption: Mountain Lodge on Victoria Peak (pictured, left) was replaced by Fanling Lodge as the summer residence of the Governors of Hong Kong.
exif: {}