26th May 2010
Wednesday in Hong Kong is free admission day for all museums. With about 7 different museums to choose from, including the Space Museum and Science Museum, we decided (after consulting the guide book) to head for the Hong Kong Museum of History.
This museum focuses on the territory’s archeology, natural history, ethnography and local hstory. Hong Kong is very much a city focussed on the future and due to the lack of space here, the past often gets torn up in favour of this forward development. As a consequence, there are very few old buildings here and very little history ‘out and about’. The museum therefore gave us a chance to learn a bit more about the history of this country.
The ‘Hong Kong Story’ takes visitors through the entire history of the country, starting with the natural environment and prehistoric Hong Kong. We were both more interested in the later history of the country, so we skipped these first two sections and walked through to the ethnology section.
Here we learnt about the different peoples that were originally in Hong Kong. The museum is really well laid out with replica villages and houses that you can walk around to learn about how these people lived. The exhibit then goes on to feature information about the culture of these people and their customs and religion. There is even a replica Cantonese Opera stage, complete with backstage area, itself subject to many superstitions and customs.
From here we headed into the area which described the opium wars with Britain and the events which led to the territory being colonised by the British.
Moving on, we headed to the replica street from Central on Hong Kong Island dating from the 1800s, including an old grocery, medicine stall, temple and post office. All of which featured exhibits with information about different areas of life during these times such as education, law and health.
The museum went on to an area dedicated to WWII and the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, before being reinstated to Britain and finally handed back to the Chinese in 1997.
It really was an excellent museum, very modern and well laid out with interesting exhibits rather than just boards with history written on them.
Leaving the museum, we took a wander through Kowloon Park in order to visit Harbour City Mall for some lunch. This is a small oasis of greenery in the centre of the hustle and bustle of Kowloon.
After some food, we hopped on the Star Ferry for another slice of history, crossing to Hong Kong Island in nine minutes. Launched in 1888, these ferries give great views of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon from Victoria Harbour, and are cheap too - only $2 for a crossing. Bargain!
