Strolling on these grounds, you could imagine being in a Hong Kong of several decades ago. There are wild flowers growing on the slopes, tall palm trees swaying in the breeze, lush ferns providing shade, and the sound of crickets and birds chirping in the background. Looking across the Harbor there is actually a village right on the waterfront, with some houses built on stilts. Directly above this village you can see green slopes and the prominent Devil's Peak, which also had a large military bunker.
When you tire of exploring the nooks and crannies of the compound, it is time to head to the air-conditioned Redoubt, inside there you will find the exhibits of the museum as well as a coffee shop with great views out to the ocean and the entrance of the harbor. Bunkers, almost by definition, are mainly built into the ground, and the architects that refurbished the Redoubt very skillfully used glass and an innovative cloth tensile canopy to provide a spacious and bright atrium.
With regards to the actual gallery, there are 3 sections, while my main focus was on the permanent section. There are eleven small galleries with exhibits spanning a history of six centuries, from the coastal defence during Ming dynasty (1368-1644) to the Chinese Handover. The exhibits themselves reflect a lot of different culture an experiences and furthermore, the pictures, artifacts, multimedia and text of the exhibits are professionally done and brief enough to keep people's attention. For example, in the Ming Dynasty, Firstly, with regards to the history of the Ming dynasty, Between 1405 and 1433, Ming emperors sent seven maritime expeditions probing down into the South Seas and across the Indian Ocean. The era's xenophobia and intellectual introspection characteristic of the era's increasingly popular new school of neo-Confucianism, thus did not lead to the physical isolation of China. Contacts with the outside world, particularly with Japan, and foreign trade increased considerably. Yongle Emperor strenuously tried to extend China's influence beyond her borders by encouraging other rulers to send ambassadors to China to present tribute. The Chinese armies reconquered Annam and blocked Mongol expansionism, while the Chinese fleet sailed the China seas and the Indian Ocean, cruising as far as the east coast of Africa. The Chinese gained a certain influence over Turkestan. The maritime Asian nations sent envoys with tribute for the Chinese emperor. Internally, the Grand Canal was expanded to its farthest limits and proved to be a stimulus to domestic trade.
Likewise, in the Qing Dynasty gallery there is a section that states that due to a piracy problem, The Qing was the last imperial dynasty of China, its emperors occupying their capital, Beijing, from 1644 until 1912 when, in the aftermath of the 1911 revolution a new Republic of China was established and the the last emperor abdicated.
The Qing Dynasty was founded not by the Han Chinese people who form the overwhelming majority of the population of China proper, but by the Manchu</a>s, a semi-nomadic people not even known by that name when they first rose to prominence in what is now northeastern China. Taking advantage of the political instability and popular rebellions convulsing the Ming dynasty, the highly organized military forces of the Manchus swept into the Ming capital of Beijing in 1644 and there remained until the Qing dynasty was overthrown in a revolution in 1911, with the last emperor abdicating early in 1912.
The 268 years of Qing dynasty China saw glorious successes, humiliating defeats, and profound changes to virtually all aspects of life. Today's China has in many ways been shaped by these experiences. The consolidation of Qing power was accompanied by territorial expansion, and the borders of modern China largely reflect successful Qing military campaigns. The incorporation of new lands and peoples required careful handling, and Manchu experience of nomadic culture and a willingness to adopt different postures toward different groups such as Mongols and Tibetans enhanced Qing diplomatic effectiveness. The seeds of the huge population increase were perhaps sown during the stability of the first 200 years of Qing rule, with its economic expansion, the opening up of new land for cultivation, and the spread of certain crops that were able to grow in poor quality soil. Many great works of art and literature originated during the period and the Qianlong emperor in particular undertook huge projects to preserve important cultural texts. The novel form became widely read and perhaps China's most famous novel, Dream of the Red Chamber, was written in the mid-eighteenth century. The Taiping Rebellionin the mid-nineteenth century was the first major instance of anti-Manchu sentiment threatening the stability of the Qing dynasty, a phenomenon that would only increase in the following years. However, the horrific number of casualties of this rebellion - as many as 30 million people may have died - and the complete devastation of a huge area in the south of the country have to a large extent been overshadowed by another significant conflict. Although not nearly as bloody, the outside world and its ideas and technologies had a tremendous and ultimately revolutionary impact on an increasingly weak and uncertain Qing state.
The collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1912 brought an end to over 2000 years of imperial history in China and began an extended period of instability, not just at the national level but in many areas of peoples' lives. Obvious political and economic backwardness combined with widespread criticism of Chinese culture led to questioning and doubt about the future. China's turbulent history since the overthrow of the Qing may be understood at least in part as an attempt to understand and recover significant aspects of historic Chinese culture and integrate them with influential new ideas that have emerged within the last century. The Qing dynasty is the source of much of this magnificent culture, but its perceived humiliations also provide much from which to learn.
However, the gallery on the Handover and the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is also given the secrecy of the Chinese government; the lack of information is not that surprising. There are some pictures of that rainy summer day in 1997 and then some uniforms of the navy are displayed. That's about it. You will find no information about what the PLA soldiers stationed in Hong Kong are up to. Basically, The People's Liberation Army includes an army, navy, air force, and strategic nuclear forces, serves as the military of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Its 2.3 million strong force makes it the largest army, in terms of sheer number of troops, in the world. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927, as the military arm of the Communist Party of China. It was originally named the Red Army.
I found most interesting was the history of the bunker itself. The Bunker was completed by the British in 1887 and built in order to defend Hong Kong, not from the Chinese, but from perceived threats by Russia and France. The biggest threat this bunker faced, however, was tropical disease; not once was it used to protect the entrance to the harbor. In one year alone, 40 percent of the garrison died due to a severe fever epidemic. Soldiers also died of malaria, not to mention the plague.
After viewing all this, I made my way over to Gallery number 9 of the permanent exhibition bear in mind that it’s most tragic moment however was on December 19, 1941: the day the Japanese attacked. While Japan held most of the eastern coastal areas of China, guerrilla fighting continued in the conquered areas. The Nationalist government of Chiang Kai-shek struggled on from a provisional capital at Chongqing City; however, realizing that he also faced a threat from communist forces of Mao Zedong, he mostly tried to preserve the strength of his army and avoid heavy battle with the Japanese in the hopes of defeating the Communists once the Japanese left. Moreover, Chiang could not risk an all-out campaign given the poorly-trained, under-equipped, and unorganized state of his armies and opposition to his leadership both within Kuomintang and in China at large. Most military analysts predicted that the Chinese could not keep up the fighting with most of the war factories located in the prosperous areas under or near Japanese control. Other global powers were reluctant to provide any support because in their opinion the Chinese would eventually lose the war. They expected any support given to China might worsen their own relationship with the Japanese, who taunted the Kuomintang with the prospect of conquest within 3 months. Relegated to the role of pure survival, the troops stationed in the Bunker were soon defeated by powerful Japanese artillery and by the simple fact that they were heavily outmanned. In certain parts of the Historical Trail, evidence of bullet and shrapnel damage stemming from this battle can still be seen.
The government has done a valiant effort from preventing this monument from becoming further decayed, or worse, being replaced by a high rise. With steel bridges transporting you over ditches, glass partitions precariously separating you from precipices, and the metal winches and support beams of the canopy clearly visible, this has got to be the funkiest post-modern concrete bunker in the world. It is therefore not surprising that this museum has already won Hong Kong's most prestigious architecture award.
After the end of the trip, when I looked back at my trip to the coastal defence museum, I realized that I had learnt so much more about Chinese history. The museum itself may not be big, however the materials that it contains clearly are special and not what you see everyday. Anyone interested in history should take a look at it, as it clearly reflects the development of the history of Hong Kong.
English Version of CCIV 0102 Page of