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GeoExpat  Hong Kong Guide Visitors Guide Museum of Coastal Defence
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Museum of Coastal Defence |
.jpg) This summer sees the 60th anniversary of the end of hostilities in the Pacific. Perhaps it’s a good time to learn about Hong Kong’s role in that conflict. A good place to start is at the Museum of Coastal Defence in Eastern District.
But don’t fear, this is not dusty history – the museum is built inside and above an old fort overlooking the narrowest stretch of Victoria Harbour, and it’s easy to look around and imagine how things must have been. The exhibitions on site are absorbing, and you can take in some typical local scenes on the way there and back.
Start by taking the MTR to Shau Kei Wan station on the blue line. Leave by Exit C, and cross the sitting-out area to reach Shau Kei Wan Main Street East. This is also the eastern end of Hong Kong’s tram system, and if you have more time, you might like to arrive by this mode of transport – it should take around 45 minutes from Central.
This road used to be on the old waterfront, and was the commercial heart of the area. It’s still packed with local-style shops selling everything from sweets and fried snacks to electronics and religious paraphernalia. Walking north, you’ll soon find the town’s Tin Hau Temple. It dates from the 1870s. Inside it is black and grimy from decades of burning incense.
Carry on towards the harbour, passing Basel Road, named for the Basel Mission which once operated here. At the next junction, take the subway underground towards the Tam Kung Temple; you’ll see its green roof tiles ahead.
Like Tin Hau, Tam Kung is another deity popular with seafarers. This temple was built around 1905 and features outstanding interior roof decoration. While you’re here, walk to the waterfront to take a look at the typhoon shelter. Shau Kei Wan is still a working fishing port. A large fleet of oceangoing vessels is moored near the breakwater, and sampans shuttle back and forth.
Follow Tam Kung Temple Road to where a row of tin shipyards line the left-hand side. Some of them are bustling with workers and visitors.
Just after the Wholesale Fish Market, you can make a short detour over the zebra crossing to see the tumbledown Ah Kung Ngam Village, oddly nestled amongst industrial buildings. ‘Ngam’ means ‘cave’ and recalls the quarries which once marked the area. The village has a small temple to Yuk Wong (the ‘Jade King’), and a maze of alleyways sometimes no more than two feet wide.
Your final stop is the Museum of Coastal Defence, back on the other side of the road. Opened in 2000, it occupies the grounds and batteries of the former Lei Yue Mun Fort. This cape guards the eastern approaches to the harbour, and as such it was heavily fortified before the war. A trail leads down to the site of the Brennan Torpedo, a vintage nautical installation which was one of the Victorians’ secret weapons, while the central Redoubt now houses the exhibition gallery. There are great views across the harbour to Devil’s Peak.
The Trail
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The Waterfront
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Many hours can be spent at the museum, so be sure to leave enough time to explore. The complex closes at 5pm, and is open every day except Thursdays.
Retracing your steps on the way back, you might like to walk further down the Main Street to the tram circle, and then turn right onto Kam Wa Street. It’s a busy fruit and fish market which is photogenic in the evenings, when all the stalls are lit by red lamps. Women call out the prices of fresh seafood, which is displayed on enamel plates. Maybe it will give you some ideas for dinner?
 Marketplace
Address: 175 Tung Hei Road, Shau Kei Wan, Hong Kong
Enquiries: 2569 1500
Booking hotline: 2569 1248
Fax : 2569 1637
Website : http://hk.coastaldefence.museum
The Museum of Coastal Defence provides free shuttle bus service to and from Heng Fa Chuen MTR Station during weekends and public holidays. Shuttle bus runs at every 15-20 minutes from 10 am to 5 pm. The pick-up point is adjacent to the Heng Fa Chuen bus terminus opposite Block 50.
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