Hong Kong Museum of coastal defence

Hong Kong Museum of coastal defence

Located at Dongxi Road, Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Museum of coastal defence covers an area of about 34200 square meters. It is one of the branches of the Hong Kong Museum of history. It is managed by the leisure and Cultural Services Department and is built from a century old Lei Yue men fort.

brief introduction

Hong Kong Museum of coastal defence

Located in Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong Island, the Museum covers an area of about 34200 square meters. It is built from a century old Lei Yue men fort.

The liyumen area controls the eastern entrance of Victoria Harbour and is at the center. As early as 1844, British troops built barracks in Xiwan area on the South Bank of the waterway. However, due to the epidemic, many soldiers died and the barracks were abandoned. In the following 40 years, although the military department repeatedly planned to build a fort in liyumen, it was not implemented.

In 1885, in order to defend against the threat of France and Russia, the British Army decided to build the Lei Yue men fort in the south of the Lei Yue men waterway. The fortress is the core of the whole defense system, designed and built by the Royal Engineers. They first removed 7000 square meters of soil from the highest point of liyumen headland, then built 18 basements for soldiers' barracks, ammunition depot, shell assembly room and coal bunker, and finally filled back the soil to completely hide the fort. All works were completed in 1887.

There is an open square in the center of the fort for soldiers to collect and distribute. The fort is equipped with two six inch rear mounted "concealed" cannons, surrounded by trenches. In addition, the British troops built a number of turrets near the fort, including reverse turret, central turret, Western turret and ferry turret, which were distributed on the headland from east to west according to the mountain trend.

On December 8, 1941, the Japanese invaded Hong Kong. After occupying the new territories and Kowloon, the British troops strengthened the defense of Lei Yue Mun to prevent Japanese troops from crossing the sea and landing from devil mountain on the other side. Although the garrison had repelled the Japanese attack many times, the fort was finally captured on December 19 due to the great disparity of strength between the two sides. After the war, the fort had lost its defensive function, but it was still used as a training base by the British military, and it was withdrawn in 1987.

In view of the historical value and architectural features of the Lei Yue men fort, the former Urban Council decided in 1993 to restore it and transform it into a museum with the theme of Hong Kong coastal defense history. The project, which costs about HK $300 million, was designed and constructed by the Architectural Services Department. In 2000, the architectural design of the project won the silver award of the Hong Kong Institute of architects' annual award and the silver award of green city talent - green effect. The Hong Kong Museum of coastal defense was officially opened to the public on July 25, 2000, opening a new page in the history of liyumen fort.

Development history

Liyumen fort was built in 1887. It is mainly composed of fort, barracks, ammunition depot, shell assembly room and coal bunker. There is an open square in the center of the fort for soldiers to collect and distribute. The fortress is equipped with two 6-inch rear mounted "concealed" cannons, surrounded by trenches. In addition, the British troops built a number of turrets near the fort, including reverse turret, central turret, Western turret and ferry turret, which were distributed on the headland from east to west according to the mountain trend. The range of each gun is different, which can completely cover the whole liyumen waterway. In 1890, the British Army built a Brennan torpedo launching station on the promontory coast, which was the most powerful underwater weapon fortress in the world at that time.

However, in the following 30 years, Hong Kong was not attacked, and the coastal defense weapons of liyumen were useless. In the 1930s, due to the improvement of weapon technology and the completion of other new fort, the importance of liyumen fort in Hong Kong's coastal defense gradually declined.

On December 8, 1941, Japan began to attack Hong Kong. After the fall of the new territories and Kowloon, the garrison immediately strengthened the defense of Lei Yue Mun to prevent Japan from crossing Victoria Harbour through Lei Yue Mun from devil mountain. The garrison repulsed the Japanese raids many times, but they were defeated in the end. The fortress was occupied by Japan on December 19. After the restoration of Hong Kong, the fortress was no longer a strategic point, so it became a training ground for the British army. Until 1987, in view of the construction of phase III of the Eastern Corridor in August 1986, the military facilities at the Eastern Corridor were officially suspended.

In view of the historical value and architectural features of the Lei Yue men fort, the former Urban Council decided in 1993 to restore it and transform it into a museum with the theme of Hong Kong coastal defense history. The project, which costs about HK $300 million, was designed and constructed by the Architectural Services Department. In 2000, its architectural design won the annual award of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects - Silver Award, and the Green City Talent Award - green effect award. The Hong Kong Museum of coastal defense was officially opened to the public on July 25, 2000. The opening ceremony was officially held on August 31 of the same year, opening a new page in the history of liyumen fort.

architectural composition

The Hong Kong Museum of coastal defense is mainly divided into three areas: reception area, fortress and historic trail. It is refitted from the liyumen fort with a history of nearly 100 years. The historical building of the museum has a large open-air square. The unique architectural design, together with other original building materials, provides visitors with a comfortable and antique feeling. The fortress was converted into a permanent exhibition corridor, including the defense history of Hong Kong during the Ming, Qing, pre colonial, Japanese, post colonial and post reunification periods.

More than 400 items on display at the Hong Kong Museum of coastal defense are all related to the history of Hong Kong's coastal defense, including firearms, cannons, hand-held weapons, military uniforms and textiles. All the collections belong to the Hong Kong Museum of history. In addition, more than 20 precious cultural relics have been borrowed from China and Hong Kong.

Architecture

Fort: built in 1887, it is the core site of liyumen fort.

Central Fort: built in 1887, the cannon on display is 7 feet wide and has a firing range of 3600 meters.

West Fort: built in 1887, exhibits two 9-foot-wide cannons excavated in Admiralty with a range of 5400 meters.

Brennan torpedo launching station: built in 1892 and 1894 respectively, it is the last building built by British forces in overseas territories.

Liyumen ferry Fort: built in 1892, this fort is used to prevent the attack of speedboats and torpedoes.

Visit information

Opening Hours

Monday to Wednesday, Friday to Sunday: 10 am to 5 pm

Closed on Thursdays, Lunar New Year's Day 1 and Lunar New Year's Day 2

Admission fee

Adult: 10 yuan (applicable to adults and those who are not eligible to buy discount tickets)

Full time students, people with disabilities and people aged 60 or above: 5 yuan

Group: 7 yuan (20 people or above)

Admission is free on Wednesdays

Public transportation

Take a 15 minute walk along the sign at exit B2 of MTR Shau Kei Wan Station.

Citybus 85, North Point pier to Siu Sai Wan.

Museum parking

The museum has a private car park, which is open from 10am to 5pm (except on Thursdays, Lunar New Year's Day 1 and Lunar New Year's Day 2). Each visitor can park for 3 hours free of charge.

Related news

Beijing, January 24, 2003 (Xinhua) from today (24th) to April 21, the Hong Kong coastal defense museum will hold the "Zhongshan warship cultural relics exhibition", which will display more than 50 historical relics of Zhongshan warship transported to Hong Kong from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, supplemented by words and historical photos, to let the public know the scale and characteristics of Zhongshan warship, as well as its ups and downs in Chinese history.

On January 28, 1997, a gunboat was picked up from the bottom of the Yangtze River, ending the dark years of more than half a century and coming to light again. This gunboat witnessed the military turmoil in modern Chinese history, including the movement to protect the law, the disaster of Sun Yat Sen, the split of the Kuomintang and the war of resistance against Japan. This gunboat is the famous Zhongshan ship.

According to reports, Zhongshan warship, formerly known as Yongfeng warship, changed its name in 1925 in memory of Dr. Sun Yat Sen. Yongfeng warship was a gunboat ordered by Qing government from Japan in 1910 to rectify the strength of the Navy. In March 1913, the Yongfeng warship sailed back to Shanghai for service and stationed in Yuezhou. In July 1917, the Yongfeng warship sailed to Guangzhou and joined the law protection government headed by Sun Yat Sen, aiming at fighting against the Northern Warlords and safeguarding the Parliament and the Treaty of laws, forming a law protection fleet. In 1922, Chen Jiongming, who was actively supported by Sun Yat Sen, led the Guangdong army to launch a mutiny. Sun Yat Sen then moved to Yongfeng to command the pacification. During this period, Yongfeng was almost destroyed by bombing. Later, Sun Yat Sen was escorted to Hong Kong by British gunboats and then returned to Shanghai. This is a famous Yongfeng incident in history. In November 1924, Sun Yat Sen and his wife, Soong Ching Ling, sailed northward from Guangzhou on the Yongfeng warship and went to Beijing via Hong Kong to discuss Guoshi.

Sun Yat Sen died of illness in March 1925, and Yongfeng warship was renamed Zhongshan warship in the same year to praise Sun Yat Sen's contribution to the Chinese nation. In October 1938, the Zhongshan warship was attacked repeatedly by Japanese warplanes during the Anti Japanese War and finally sank.

In memory of Sun Yat Sen and the Anti Japanese heroes, Hubei Provincial Department of culture has been allowed to prepare for the salvage of the Zhongshan warship since 1986. The Zhongshan warship was successfully salvaged at the bottom of the Yangtze River in January 1997, and more than 3400 cultural relics of various types were cleared up on board

Chinese PinYin : Xiang Gang Hai Fang Bo Wu Guan