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The project “Project Plum Grove: A rural revitalisation prototype for sustainable placemaking through collaborative restorations”, led by Professor Thomas Chung Wang-leung, Associate Professor of the School of Architecture at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), has been awarded the Research Project of the Year: Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the Times Higher Education (THE) Awards Asia 2025. The project highlights the University’s commitment to addressing major societal challenges through research on cultural heritage conservation and exploring innovative community engagement models.

The project successfully revitalised the 360-year-old abandoned Hakka village of Mui Tsz Lam, providing a pioneering model for sustainable rural revitalisation in Hong Kong and beyond. Centred on collaborative restoration, the project was carried out in phases. In the first phase, the team documented the village’s morphology and cultural heritage, and restored two ruined structures — the “Old House” and the “Mural House”, guided by principles of in-situ, light-touch, and co-create. In the second phase, the team combined traditional craftsmanship with modern techniques to transform the “Old House” into a community co-op named “Mui Tsz Lam Commons”, which now serves as CUHK’s education and research base. It marked a new chapter of university-village collaboration. Over the past four years, the project has mobilised more than 250 returning villagers, volunteers, students, and NGO members, inspiring additional self-initiated restoration efforts and setting a new benchmark for sustainable placemaking practices.

Professor Chung said: “We are deeply honoured to receive recognition from Times Higher Education. This award not only affirms the efforts of our team but also highlights the importance of community-driven, sustainable revitalisation models. We hope that our work serves as an inspiration for rural restoration initiatives in Hong Kong and across the globe.”

THE Awards Asia are a major international platform that celebrates excellence in leadership, institutional achievements and innovations in higher education sector across Asia. This year, the awards received more than 500 entries from institutions across the region, with 80 projects making the final shortlist.

Supported by CUHK’s Institute of Environment, Energy and Sustainability and Faculty of Social Science, Professor Chung serves as the founding director of the CUHK Research Centre for Sustainable Placemaking and Urban-rural Regeneration and leads a multidisciplinary team dedicated to developing sustainable urban-rural futures for all. His research focuses on a regenerative approach that encompasses countryside conservation and co-creative placemaking. Since 2019, Professor Chung has emphasised interdisciplinary action-research, stakeholder partnerships, and resilience with social impact in his urban-rural revitalisation research. His current Hong Kong projects include other villages such as Kuk Po, Yung Shue Au and on Lantau Island, and his team is forming partnerships for projects in mainland China and beyond.