Hong Kong Sights to See Hong Kong Museum of History
Hong
Kong is at one time a bustling, ultra-modern city and a city of history with an ancient past. This
contrast is captured and displayed to perfection in the Hong Kong
Museum of History. By means of dozens of interactive videos and
computers, alongside hand-sculpted or carefully selected artifacts,
Hong Kong's long history is shown.
An introductory exhibit shows the history of the harbor and
surroundings as far back as 400 million years, showing it's geological
formation and the development of local plant and animal life. In a room
the size of a commercial airplane hangar, visitors can see and read
about the tigers and black bears that used to occupy the area. The
exhibit is accompanied by Natural History-style Neolithic exhibits of
early Chinese inhabitants.
Fast forward to the more "recent" 2,000 BC and the beginnings of Hong
Kong civilization. Here we find dozens of examples of pottery, jewelry
and other man-made objects from China's early civilized period.
Museum-goers will get a sense of the life of the average Chinese by
boarding a fishing ship in one exhibit. Surrounded by statues and
puppets the life of a fishing family in Hong Kong harbor is vividly
recreated. Exhibits explaining life in the Ming and Qing dynasties
demonstrate why there was a mass migration to Hong Kong during those
centuries.
A third of the museum is devoted to Hong Kong's British colonial
period, beginning about 200 years ago. Portrayed by a harbor and street
scene that tourists can walk in and around, you'll see the cargo on the
wharf as it appeared generations before Hong Kong entered it's modern
phase. Realism is maximized by recreations of the docks, a period tea
shop and others. The floor even vibrates with the hum of a steamer
engine.
Visitors can see genuine photographs of Hong Kong streets as they were
100 years ago. You'll see reminders of the Opium Wars along
with Sun
Yat-Sen's activities that led to the establishment of the
Chinese
Republic.
Further down the hall is a large exhibit showing the Japanese
occupation during WWII, complete with an air raid shelter and booming
sound effects.
Film clips from the 1960s show the beginnings of Hong Kong's leap into
the jet age. A series of exhibits catalogs some of the tragic disasters
that have tested the spirit of these indomitable people.
Zoom ahead to the latest ultra-modern skyscraper. Photos and model
displays show visitors the Hong Kong they can see out the windows. Some
of the most innovative buildings along some of the world's busiest
streets remind visitors of New York times ten.
Now housed in a stylish, modern building, the museum was formed in 1962
and split from the Hong Kong Museum of Art in 1975. Small by British
Museum or Smithsonian standards, at 17,500 square meters, the museum
will nonetheless entrance visitors for hours.
The museum is easy to reach by the subway system. Take the MTR to Tsim
Sha Tsui. Take exit B2 and walk along Cameron Road. Or take the Star
Ferry from Central district then board the bus. The museum is located
at 100 Chatham Road South, next door to the Science Museum.
Sights to see in Hong Kong include:
Disneyland
Kowloon Park
Lantau Island
Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb
Mai Po Marsh
Nathan Road
Po Lin Monastery
Stanley Market
Star Ferry and Victoria Harbor
Victoria Peak
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