Published : 12/06/2026
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"Medical tourism" has become popular in recent years. Even without travelling abroad, you can create your own local medical tour in Hong Kong by visiting the century-old historic house "Lui Seng Chun" in Sham Shui Po, to see a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner and drink herbal tea.
This curved "tong-lau" (Chinese tenement) was once the private mansion of Lui Leung (雷亮), one of the founders of KMB. Today, it has been revitalised into a heritage gem that promotes traditional Chinese medicine culture.
Lui Seng Chun was donated to the government for revitalisation without compensation
In 2000, the Lui family made an unprecedented decision—to unconditionally donate their ancestral home, Lui Seng Chun (雷生春), to the government, making it the first historic building in Hong Kong to be privately donated to the government for revitalisation.
Starting from 2012, this Grade I historic building became the "Lui Seng Chun Hall" (雷生春堂), a Chinese medicine healthcare centre run by the School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). The public can come in to drink herbal tea or make an appointment to see a Chinese medicine practitioner, which forges a new community connection for the historic site.
The name "Lui Seng Chun" comes from a couplet inside the building which symbolised the healing power of Chinese medicine and a commitment to serving the community. The building, originally the Lui family's private residence, was constructed by Lui Leung, one of the founders of KMB; .
It was completed in 1931 and is a four-storey building with a bone-setting and Chinese medicine clinic on the ground floor and the Lui family's residence on the first to third floors. Designed by local architect W.H. Bourne as a typical "tong-lau" (唐樓), which means the height and width of the verandas are large enough for a horse to pass through.
The "Godfather of Hong Kong Funds" is a descendant of Lui Leung
David Lui Yin-tat (雷賢達), known as the "Godfather of Hong Kong Funds", is the grandson of Lui Leung.
Having been born in Lui Seng Chun, he once publicly recalled that during the 10 years he lived there. He often played badminton on the "horse-racing veranda".
His younger brother, Tim Lui Tim-leung (雷添良), a former chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission, also fondly recalled riding his bicycle and playing with model cars on the balcony, spending a happy childhood there.
Lui Seng Chun is one of the few distinctive tenement buildings in Hong Kong preserved since the 1930s, featuring a Chinese-Western design.
The ground floor is supported by eight granite columns, while the rectangular frames and distinctive railings are symbols of Neoclassicism. The wide balconies and corridors, the stone plaque engraved with the family shop's name on the top floor, and the layout of "commercial below, residential above" all possess the typical characteristics of pre-war tenement buildings in Hong Kong.
Today, Lui Seng Chun is situated between the two bustling roads of Tong Mi Road and Lai Chi Kok Road, with heavy traffic flowing past its entrance.
However, before the land reclamation projects over half a century ago, the mansion faced a vast ocean and the surroundings were tranquil. This coastal geographical factor also further highlighted the heat-dissipating function of the "horse-racing veranda".
Lui Seng Chun's Dit Da Jow was widely reowned
Lui Leung, whose original name was Lui Hung-wai (雷鴻維), was a native of Taishan, Guangdong Province. An astute businessman, in addition to being a founder of KMB, he was also involved in other businesses, including import-export trade and the production of Dit Da Jow (跌打酒, bone-setting medicated liquor).
The Dit Da Jow produced by Lui Seng Chun, "Bat Bo Dit Da Dao Shang Yao Lu" (八寶跌打刀傷藥露, Eight Treasures Bruise and Blade Wound Medicated Dew), was widely renowned.
Besides being well-known in the areas of Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po, it was also exported to the United States, Australia, Southeast Asia, and other places through Lui Leung's trading company, "Man Shun Loong Kam Shan Chong" (萬信隆金山莊). It was very popular among overseas Chinese.
According to Lui Chung-yuen (雷中元), a descendant of the Lui family and former General Manager of KMB, the medicinal wine was not actually produced for profit. It was simply that Lui Leung had a keen interest in herbal remedies for bruises and injuries. He brought a well-regarded Dit Da Jow formula from his hometown of Taishan to Hong Kong, producing it himself at Lui Seng Chun.
He often gave it away or sold it at a low price to local residents, demonstrating a deep sense of community spirit. Although the Dit Da Jow has long been discontinued, the exhibition hall on the ground floor of Lui Seng Chun today still preserves the packaging and instruction manual of this Dit Da Jow for the public to view.
Unfortunately, after Lui Leung passed away in 1944, the clinic on the ground floor also closed down a few years later. As the number of family members grew, descendants gradually moved out one after another.
Afterwards, the ground floor shop of Lui Seng Chun was rented out for commercial and residential use, and as a tailor's shop, until it became derelict in the 1980s. Due to an ancestral order forbidding it from being sold or demolished, the mansion was never redeveloped and gradually fell into disrepair.
Lui Seng Chun becomes HKBU Chinese Medicine and Healthcare Centre
In the 2000s, the Hong Kong government listed Lui Seng Chun as a Grade I historic building. The Lui family decided to donate the mansion to the government free of charge, continuing the history and life of Lui Seng Chun.
In the exhibition hall on the ground floor of Lui Seng Chun, the old plaques for "Lui Seng Chun" and "King Fuk Tong" (敬福堂) have been restored in their original positions. It also displays some of the old daily life items from Lui Seng Chun's past, such as a Qing dynasty cosmetic mirror and an old grinding stone and cutter, which are over a hundred years old.
In addition, the herbal tea section of HKBU's Lui Seng Chun is also located on this floor. When you visit, you might want to spend ten dollars on a cup of herbal tea according to your physical condition, to regulate your health.
The first to third floors of the mansion are now revitalised as a Chinese medicine dispensary, medical records room, consultation rooms, etc. The rooftop has a Chinese medicine garden. If you wish to go upstairs to visit or see a Chinese medicine practitioner, you need to make an appointment in advance.
Every month, Lui Seng Chun provides free consultations for low-income individuals, offering medical treatment and medicine. For details, you can visit the official website to make an appointment and register.
Even without leaving home, the public can take a virtual tour of Lui Seng Chun's walk through veranda through the website of the Hong Kong Baptist University School of Chinese Medicine.
This online medical and heritage tour allows visitors to learn about the revitalisation process of Lui Seng Chun and explore the development of herbal tea and Chinese medicine in Hong Kong
Lui Seng Chun (HKBU Chinese Medicine and Healthcare Centre - Lui Seng Chun)
Address: 119 Lai Chi Kok Road, Mong Kok
Consultation Hours: Monday to Sunday 09:00-13:00 and 14:00-18:00, closed on public holidays (Appointment required)
Guided Tour Times: Monday to Friday 14:30 and 16:00; Saturday and Sunday 09:30 and 11:00 (Appointment required)
Telephone: 3411 0628
Website: https://lsc.hkbu.edu.hk/content/lsc/zh-hk.html
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