Lee Iu-cheung


Dr. Lee Iu Cheung was a businessman and former educator in Hong Kong, and a prominent philanthropist. In addition to his 29 years' service on the board of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, he is best known as the creator of the Dragon Garden.

Biography

Born in Hong Kong to a migrant family from GuangDong Province, China, Lee Iu Cheung spent his childhood in Sheung Wan district. Lee was awarded the Lugard Scholarship upon passing all his Cambridge University local examinations held in Hong Kong. He entered the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Hong Kong in 1913. After graduating in 1917, he married Chan Yuet King, daughter of a director of the Tung Wah Hospital. Concerned about the floods ravaging the Guangdong Province, Lee left for Cornell University in the United States to undertake a special study on River Conservancy and Sanitary engineering in 1919. However, he was forced to abandon his studies and return to Hong Kong upon his father's death. Upon his return, Lee became a part-time lecturer in Hydraulic Engineering at the University of Hong Kong.
In 1949, Lee purchased a barren hill in the New Territories from the Government of Hong Kong, and spent the next 20 years planning, designing and landscaping the garden known as Dragon Garden.
Dr. Lee is best known for his voluntary service "to about 50 associations and organisations aimed at improving the social and economic conditions of the Hong Kong people, especially after World War II." He joined the board of Kwong Wah Hospital in 1926, was member of the Po Leung Kuk Committee in 1929–30 and became chairman of the Tung Wah Hospital Board of Directors in 1940.
Dr. Lee's awards include an MBE by HM King George VI in 1949, an OBE in 1952, and a CBE in 1958, the latter both awarded by HM Queen Elizabeth II. He was also conferred a LL.D. by his alma mater in 1969.