Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP SIGHT
HONG KONG MUSEUM OF HISTORY
If you have time for only one museum, make it the Hong Kong Museum of
History. Its whistle-stop overview of the city's natural history, ethnography
and indigenous culture will give some lively context to your impressions of
Hong Kong. There are free guided tours in English at 10.30am and 2.30pm on
weekends.
The eight galleries of the
Hong Kong Story
exhibition take you on a fascinating walk
through the territory's history, starting with the natural environment and prehistoric Hong
Kong (about 6000 years ago), and ending with the territory's return to China in 1997. Inter-
estingly, there's hardly anything on life post-1997.
You'll encounter colourful replicas of a Chinese marriage procession, and the dwellings
of the Tanka boat people and the Puntay who built walled villages. You'll see traditional
costumes and recreated shophouses from 1881, and board a tram from 1913. You'll watch
WWII footage that features interviews with Chinese and foreigners taken prisoner by the
Japanese.
The section devoted to Hong Kong urban culture contains replicas of a retro grocery
store, a soda fountain and the interiors of a poor man's home. There's a cinema decorated in
'60s style, with three screenings daily (11am, 2pm, 4pm) of old Cantonese films - an attrac-
tion for the older set who comes here for the movies and the free air-conditioning.
The gallery for
special exhibitions
features topics of significance in Hong Kong and
Chinese history, which change every few months.
