Hong Kong Museum of History

I visited the Hong Kong Museum of History for the first time last week, after our visit to the Chi Lin Nunnery and Nan Liam Gardens – and for sure it’s not going to be the last time. It was a very interesting trip to a museum full of great artifacts!

The Hong Kong Museum of History is located next to the Hong Kong Science Museum, in Kowloon. You can reach it by foot from Hung Hom, Tsim Sha Tsui or East Tsim Sha Tsui stations.

The permanent exhibition showcases 400 million years of Hong Kong’s history. It occupies an area of 7,000 sq m and comprises 8 galleries located on two floors. The Hong Kong Story outlines the natural environment, folk culture and historical development of Hong Kong vividly. The exhibition, which is both entertaining and educational, starts telling the story from the Devonian period 400 million years ago and concludes with the reunification of Hong Kong with China in 1997.

After the jungle and rain forest it’s all about trading and the story begins with the harbour and the ship people. Different houses and villages from different ethnic groups are portrayed too.

Then there is a whole section about special festivals, including the Cheung Chau bun festival (which I had written about here). You then take the escalator upstairs where the exhibition continues with the opium war, the British arriving in Hong Kong and a whole section of the old city is being recreated. You can walk through tea shops, grocery stores, a post office, a coffee house, living quarters, a bank and many other fascinating examples of live in Hong Kong in the early 20th Century.

After the Japanese occupation the walk takes you past the different public transport methods in Hong Kong (of course, with the famous double-decker tram) and then you’ll learn about tourism in Hong Kong, the golden 50s with mass production of consumer goods and the expansion of city life to the New Territories.

It is all very interesting documented, with movies, sounds, pictures and items of everyday life – you should try and make sure you’ve got about 3-4 hours to spare to really enjoy this fascinating presentation of ‘The story of Hong Kong’.

Hong Kong Museum of History
Monday, Wednesday to Saturday : 10am – 6pm,
Sunday and Public Holiday : 10am – 7pm
Closed on Tuesdays (except Public Holidays) and the first two days of the Chinese New Year.
Address: 100 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: 2724 9042