Hong Kong needs to recover its important historical sites
Updated: 2015-10-05 08:21
By Sonny Lo(HK Edition)
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Recently concerns have been expressed about the lack of tourist attractions in Hong Kong, which according to some critics has been losing its appeal for tourists from the mainland and other parts of the world.
Objectively speaking, this criticism is valid because a glance not only at the tour guides published by local travel agencies but also the website of the Tourism Commission demonstrates there is a lack of new tourist attractions in the territory. While tour companies consistently emphasize the same old scenic spots like Ocean Park, Disneyland, the Peak and Stanley, the Tourism Commission has named the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal as a new project under implementation. This is a novel concept since it signifies Hong Kong's ingenuity has not vanished completely. This will see the old Kai Tak Airport being replaced by a cutting-edge cruise-ship facility.
But the other tourist attractions named above are growing old and stale. They appear to show that the tourism authorities lack a sense of history to create more attractions for tourists.
The officials and elites responsible for promoting tourism often assume that tourists like modern buildings, grand infrastructure and new leisure resorts. Unfortunately this perspective totally ignores the unique cultural heritage of Hong Kong, a rich history not only recaptured in museum exhibitions but in the numerous military sites that recall memories of Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation in World War II.
While the mainland recently celebrated the 70th anniversary of victory over Japan, the SAR has done nothing to recreate a "trail" to show both locals and visitors how the Japanese invaded Hong Kong, how the Canadian garrison helped defend the territory, and how Chinese guerillas in Sai Kung and other districts bravely fought against the Japanese. More than 150 underground military bunkers and pillboxes in the New Territories and on Hong Kong Island have been disregarded by the tourism authorities. They should utilize them creatively as an integral part of our defense history.
Does Hong Kong lack other tourist spots? The answer is certainly no. But those responsible for tourism seem to have left our history as an area to be passively explored by tourists. They have not done anything to preserve much of it or to put the majority of sites in historical context for viewing, not just by tourists but by local residents as well. No wonder many of our young people are ignorant of Hong Kong history - not to mention the whole country's history. The Battle of Hong Kong saw the Hong Kong Garrison fight bravely against the Japanese, making a stand at Wong Nai Chung Gap, but this goes unrecognized by the tourism authorities. This oversight must be remedied without further delay and funds appropriated for the restoration of relevant sites.
Package tours of historic sites should be introduced to encourage visits by tourists and Hong Kong people alike. Additionally, visits by primary and secondary students could then be arranged to teach them about the history of the nation. People with an interest in military history can partly satisfy their curiosity at the Museum of Coastal Defence. This occupies an old fort near Shau Kei Wan overlooking the Lei Yue Mun Pass. In previous times the fort's guns and torpedoes guarded the narrow pass below that served all sea traffic entering Hong Kong waters from the northeast.
Conveniently, several of our biggest museums are located in the broader Tsim Sha Tsui area. These are the Museum of History, the Science Museum, the Museum of Art and the Space Museum. But then the problems begin. One historic treasure, a Han tomb, is to be found at Lei Cheng Uk under the aegis of the Museum of History, while other museums are spread across the New Territories: heritage, Sha Tin; railway, Tai Po; Hakka Village, Sai Kung. Besides the Museum of Coastal Defence, Hong Kong Island has the Museum of Teaware in historic Flagstaff House in Hong Kong Park, plus an old folk village house in Chai Wan.
But where do we go to honor that glorious moment one second after midnight on June 30, 1997, when China resumed sovereignty over Hong Kong? Shouldn't there be a museum at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai where the handover ceremony took place, to commemorate that proud event?
And why don't we do even more to honor the historical role of Sun Yat-sen in the Chinese revolution? Born in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, in 1866, he was invited to Honolulu by a wealthy brother and finished his secondary education there. Soon, however, he was studying medicine here at the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese. Then, rather than healing the sick, he chose to become a revolutionary and tried to heal the ailing nation of his birth. At one dangerous stage of his life Sun took refuge in a remote part of the New Territories inland from what is now Tuen Mun New Town. Is the structure where he hid still standing?
Moving from people to places, doesn't the interesting history of Stanley warrant a small museum there?
Finally, I believe better signposts and more detailed descriptions are required at all historical sites to better inform visitors about their historic significance.
The author is professor and head of the Department of Social Sciences at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. He is a long-time observer of social and political developments in Hong Kong.
(HK Edition 10/05/2015 page9)