The Hong Kong Museum of History has reopened its permanent exhibition with a new theme on the city’s shared “roots” with mainland China, nearly six years after it was closed for renovation.
The government announced the reopening of the “Hong Kong Story” in a STATEMENT on Wednesday.
“While telling local history, the revamped exhibition also places greater emphasis on Hong Kong’s role as a ‘hub’, highlighting its shared roots with the motherland in historical development and its connections to the world as an international metropolis,” he said.
The exhibition at the museum in Tsim Sha Tsui used to be presented in chronological order, covering the prehistoric period of the city until the handover in 1997.
She now whirl about four main themes, spread over 13 galleries.
The first theme, “Cultural Roots,” features artifacts that show Hong Kong “has long been rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese civilization, sharing a cultural lineage with the motherland since ancient times.”
The East Meets West exhibition showcases Chinese and Western exchanges, “while still drawing on Chinese cultural traditions.”
While the old exhibit said Hong Kong Island was “ceded” to the British in 1841 after the Opium War, the revamped display depicts the event as a “violent confiscation”.
It features a statue of Lin Zexu, a Qing dynasty official known for his role in the First Opium War from 1839 to 1842. The museum describes it as a “historical turning point when modern China faced the incursions of Western powers”.
The third theme is devoted to the “Coalition Against Japanese Aggression”, focusing on the role of the Hong Kong Communists in fighting the Japanese occupation during World War II.
“Hong Kong as a Global Metropolis” – the fourth theme – includes recreations of cafes and cinemas, as well as “Made in Hong Kong” products that symbolize the city’s economic boom.
The last gallery, “Walking with the Motherland”, shows “Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, the implementation of ‘one country, two systems’ and a new chapter in its integration into the country’s overall development”.
In October 2020, hundreds of visitors flocked to the museum on the last day of old permanent exhibitionwith some expressing concerns about potential political censorship.
While the old exhibition featured photos of Hongkongers marching in support of student protesters in May 1989, before the crackdown on Tiananmen Square, the revamp makes no mention of the bloody June 4 event, referring only to “political unrest in the spring and summer of 1989”.
The reopened exhibit no longer displays portraits of the city’s British colonial governors or a natural history section.
As part of the renovation, the museum opened National Security Exhibition Gallery in August 2024occupying 1100 square meters of space.
