CUHK
News Centre

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) held the opening ceremony of Shiu-Ying Hu Herbarium today (22 May), officiated by Dr. Kai-man Lau, representative of Wu Jieh Yee Charitable Foundation Limited; Ms. Jenny Ng, Chief Executive Officer, HealthWorks (International) Company Limited; Prof. John Hu and Mr. Zhao-ming Hu, representatives of Hu’s family; Prof. Benjamin Wah, Provost, CUHK; Prof. Fung Tung, Associate Pro-Vice-Chancellor, CUHK; and Prof. Ka-hou Chu, Acting Director, School of Life Sciences, CUHK. 

The Shiu-Ying Hu Herbarium, established by the late Prof. Hu Shiu-ying, Honorary Professor of Chinese Medicine and Honorary Senior Research Fellow of the School of Life Sciences, houses the widest range of plant specimens in Hong Kong. Prof. Benjamin Wah, Provost, CUHK remarked, ‘The Herbarium is a monument to Professor Hu’s persistence and hard work in documenting plant biodiversity for over 40 years. It is also a valuable asset to teachers and students for teaching and research purposes. On behalf of the University, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Wu Jieh Yee Charitable Foundation, HealthWorks Company Limited, Professor Hu’s family, as well as alumni and friends of the University for their generous donations to support the development of the Herbarium.’ 

In memory of Professor Hu’s lifelong devotion and contributions to botanical research, a Chinese holly was planted in the garden of the Divinity School Chapel and President Chi Tung Yung Memorial Building during the ceremony. The School of Life Sciences also organized the Wu Jieh Yee Symposium to introduce Professor Hu’s research achievements. Various scholars from the mainland and overseas were invited to share latest development of botanical research. 

The Shiu-Ying Hu Herbarium houses a collection of about 38,000 plant specimens, mostly collected and archived by Professor Hu. The herbarium is registered in the Index Herbariorum, a global directory of public herbaria managed by the New York Botanical Garden in collaboration with the International Association of Plant Taxonomists. It is now situated in the Science Centre of the University, promoting various research, education and social service programmes, including but not limited to collection and preservation of protected native flora, research on authentication of economic and medicinal plants, digitization of the existing collection to form an online botanical information database, establishment of a visitor centre and public website, as well as organization of various courses, public lectures and volunteer programmes to promote botanical research and transfer knowledge to the community.

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https://www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/en/events_recap_detail.php?id=126&s=