Time flies when you're having fun.

The Lei Yue Mun Channel.

“Real museums are places where Time is transformed into Space.” ~ Orhan Pamuk

I have frequently written in my blogs that I am not really a big fan of museums, but every now and then I'm in the right mood and they catch my interest. Yesterday I visited the newly refurbished Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence. Before leaving home, I said to Peter: "I won't be out that long. It'll take around an hour and a half to get there and I will spend one, maybe two hours in the museum, then I'll come back." I phoned him around 11.30 to say that I had just got there. Then he phoned me, what I thought was around an hour later, to say: "Where are you?" I said: "I told you I'm in the Museum of Coastal Defence." He said: "Still?" I checked the time. To my amazement, it was half past three in the afternoon. What had happened? I was so enthralled by the place, I hadn't even noticed the passage of time.

To get to the Museum of Coastal Defence, first go to Sheung Kei Wan on the Island Line of the MTR, then exit via exit B2. It's signposted from here and takes around fifteen minutes to walk. The route passes, a small but pretty public garden, Tam Kung Temple, some historical shipyards, that helped maintain and repair boats rather than build them, and Shau Kei Wan Wholesale Fish Market. Actually, there's a lot to see in Shau Kei Wan, but I didn't do my usual diverting every two minutes. I headed straight for the Museum of Coastal Defence.

Artwork on a restaurant shutter.

The park.

The park.

Flowers in the park.

Tam Kung Temple.

Boats in Shau Kei Wan Typhoon Shelter.

The shipyards.

Artwork in the shipyards.

When I arrived, I noticed there were some armoured vehicles near the entrance of the museum. There was also a memorial to Joseph Hughes who died aged nineteen when he tried to extinguish a fire in an army vehicle which was laden with ammunition. Unfortunately, it exploded and killed him. He was posthumously awarded the George Cross for bravery.

Armoured vehicles near the entrance to the museum.

Memorial to Joseph Hughes.

At the entrance to the museum.

Inside the museum, I approached the reception desk and asked if I could look around. The museum is free to enter. I was given a map which is quite handy to have as the museum occupies a large area. There are also toilets on this level. I was told to take the lift to the eighth floor to begin my explorations. The lift is inside a tower and connects to the hillside via a bridge on the eighth floor. I could see there was a lot to look at outside, but decided to look at the indoor displays first.

Bridge from the lift .

Looking towards the redoubt that houses the exhibition galleries.

Walk across the moat and enter the main entrance to the redoubt.

The moat.

The redoubt.

The Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence occupies the site of the former Lei Yue Mun Fort, which was built by the British in 1887 on a headland sixty-four metres above sea level. It was believed that this location would be good for defending the eastern approaches to Victoria Harbour. This was put to the test on the 8th of December 1941 when the Japanese, having overwhelmed The New Territories and Kowloon, finally invaded Hong Kong Island. The soldiers stationed here managed to repel several enemy attacks, but were overcome and defeated on the 19th of December. After the war the old fort was used as an army training ground before being abandoned in 1987.

The idea of using this site as a museum was first suggested in 1993 and the museum was completed and opened to the public in the year 200O. The museum occupies a large area, much of it outdoors. The museum had to be closed in September 2018 for repairs after being badly damaged by Super Typhoon Mangkhut. It opened again in November 2022.

Aerial photo of the site before it became a museum.

Aerial photo of the site now it is a museum.

Old photo of the inside of the redoubt.

Photo of the inside of the redoubt nowadays.

The indoor parts of the museum are mainly inside the old redoubt building. There are eleven galleries here, all focussing on coastal defence. These are located around a central atrium with seating areas. It is all very modern and air-conditioned. Some of the original brickwork on the roofs of the corridors of the fort has been kept to give an impression of what it was once like. Upstairs there is a restaurant and an activity room.

Central sitting area with galleries all around it.

Restaurant.

Corridor.

The exhibitions in the galleries go back in time to when Hong Kong was part of Imperial China under the control of the Qing Dynasty. There are displays of the protective clothing Qing army soldiers wore and the weapons they used. At this time piracy would have been a big problem in this area and the Qing army were constantly trying to bring it under control.

Qing Dynasty armour.

Qing Dynasty weapons.

Displays continue with some information about The First and Second Opium Wars and the British taking over Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. In the early days of the colony malaria was rife, as was flooding, landslides and typhoons. Life expectancy, if you were posted here, was low. Apparently, according to one of the display boards, in the nineteenth century in Britain if you were losing your temper with someone you might utter the curse: "Oh why don't you just go to ....Hong Kong." Personally I thought that was rather funny.

Section on The Opium Wars

Equipment for taking opium.

There were displays about how culturally diverse the British army was here with Chinese, British, Indian and Nepali soldiers.

Photo of a Gurkha regiment.

Gurkha combat and dress uniforms.

Indian army uniform on the right.

Uniform from a Scottish regiment.

Naturally there was a lot about the Second World War including the Japanese invasion of Mainland China and the subsequent invasion of Hong Kong. As I mentioned before the fort that the museum is housed in was overthrown in that invasion. One of the most moving parts of the wartime exhibitions was a selection of letters from prisoners who had just been released from the Japanese prison of war camps at the end of the war. They wrote to loved ones back in their home countries to tell them they were now free. There were also some letters that the former prisoners received from overseas.

Old letters.

Letter from a loved one in the U.K.

Rations.

Gas masks.

There was a section on The Hong Kong Volunteer Force. This was founded in 1854 during the Crimean War. Many British troops had been sent from Hong Kong to fight in this war, leaving the armed forces in Hong Kong undermanned, so volunteers were sought to boost numbers. This regiment was often disbanded in peace time, but played an active role again during World War 1. Many members of the volunteers were killed or taken prisoner in 1941 during the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Volunteers uniform.

Hong Kong Volunteers drum.

Another area that caught my attention was the story of 'the side party girls'. These were groups of Chinese women who, dressed in overalls and conical hats, were suspended in harnesses over the sides of docked ships to remove the rust and barnacles that had accumulated there, as well as to repaint them. They also did washing and ironing of sailors' clothes and other domestic chores. The most well-known group was called 'Jenny's side party' after its leader Mrs Ng Muk-kah, Jenny, who lived from 1917 to 2009. Jenny's girls were famous for their speed and the high quality of their work. Jenny herself was known for always smiling, laughing, joking and bossing everyone about. She was regarded as a maternal figure by many young homesick British sailors. She was loved so much that she was awarded the British Empire Medal and positioned as a VIP in many official photographs.

Photos of side party girls.

Photos of side party girls.

Famous side party girls.

I found this picture online that shows how dangerous the work must have been.

There were also many different uniforms on display, lots of weapons, some medals and a replica of a typical soldier's sleeping quarters.

Typical sleeping quarters.

Medal.

Uniform.

Weapons.

Weapons.

There was an audiovisual display of soldiers stacking ammunition.

Stacking ammunition.

Stacking ammunition.

I could have spent longer in the galleries but wanted to look at the outside parts of the museum, too. I blame these for me getting carried away, as I just loved them, despite the intense heat.

Outside there was the redoubt battery with a huge gun directed towards the Lei Yue Mun Channel.

Gun in the redoubt battery.

The views from this level out over the Lei Yue Mun Channel are spectacular. This channel gives its name to an area on Kowloon, as well as to an area on Hong Kong Island. It is the narrowest part of Victoria Harbour and at one time pirates frequently launched attacks on ships that tried to pass through here. The British located their fort here because it was an excellent vantage point.

Pose with this soldier.

I did.

The view over Lei Yue Mun Channel.

Lei Yue Mun Channel.

Doves? Carrier pigeons? and view.

Looking towards Lei Yue Mun.

The red building is the Tin Hau Temple, Lei Yue Mun.

Tin Hau Temple.

Looking towards Yau Tong.

Lei Yue Mun.

The bridge between Tseung Kwan O and Lohas Park.

The bridge between Tseung Kwan O and Lohas Park.

There were several statues located around this area. These were either of soldiers or of birds. I originally thought the birds were meant to be pigeons, which is possible, but I've decided they might actually be doves thus creating a sort of war and peace affect. No idea if I'm right or not. There were also some paintings.

Dove with a view.

Dove with flowers.

Dove.

Doves.

Paintings and weapons.

Standing soldier.

Sleeping soldier.

Armed Soldier.

I walked right round the top level. There were also views towards the former Lei Yue Mun Barracks, which are now a holiday camp, and over Shau Kei Wan.

Looking towards Shau Kei Wan.

Lei Yue Mun Barracks.

Lei Yue Mun Barracks.

There were two gun emplacements. One still had a gun. The other had a statue looking out to sea with binoculars. Next to each gun emplacement there was an underground magazine to store ammunition and the utensils for loading guns.

Statue with binoculars at gun emplacement two.

Statue with binoculars at gun emplacement two

In the magazine.

Utensils for loading the guns.

Then I descended some stairs into a caponier. This is a type of defensive structure from which soldiers could fire across a surrounding ditch to prevent the enemy scaling the walls of their fortress. There were three of these and they each had the same recorded command to fire guns and a model of a soldier firing through a narrow opening. It was a bit confusing, as I kept thinking I had wandered back to the same place when I was in fact in a different caponier.

Stairs down to a caponier.

And to another one.

The other end of the caponier.

Soldier in the caponier.

Soldier in the caponier.

There were lots of walkways and fortress walls with trees growing out of them.

Tree.

Walkway.

Walkway.

Walkway.

Further on there were some ruined barracks with more statues and an anti-aircraft gun.

Ruined barracks.

Ruined barracks.

Tree in the ruins.

Anti-aircraft gun next to the ruins.

Statue next to the ruins.

Statue at the bottom of the stairs from the ruins.

From here I walked down to the west battery which had more guns emplacements, an underground magazine and more statues. This time there were several statues of soldiers emerging from underground tunnels. There were also more ruins and a storeroom.

Statue on the west battery.

Gun emplacement in the west battery.

Gun emplacement in the west battery.

In the west battery.

Ruins in west battery

Store room in west battery.

From here I walked down to the waterfront past more statues. I liked a sign on the way that just labelled the buildings I was passing as long forgotten structures. There were good views on the way down.

Steps down to the waterfront.

Long forgotten structures.

Statue on the walk down to the waterfront.

At the waterfront there was a bridge, a lighthouse and a torpedo station. The torpedo station was very atmospheric and I could hear the sea gushing in and out. The torpedoes were all sitting in a row waiting to be launched. At one time there were searchlights down here. Along the waterfront there was a large anchor.There were great views of Shau Kei Wan Typhoon Shelter from here.

Statue on waterfront.

Bridge.

Egret on the rocks.

Torpedoes.

Looking out of the torpedo room door.

Lighthouse.

Anchor.

Shau Kei Wan Typhoon Shelter.

Shau Kei Wan Typhoon Shelter.

Then I went back up and walked across the drawbridge which crosses a stony slope. At one time there would have been a retractable drawbridge here. The stony slope could have been used for dragging guns and ammunition uphill. There are good views from here.

Statue on the way.

Stony slope.

Looking down at Shau Kei Wan.

Finally, I reached a proof yard. This was built between 1940 and 1941 and was used to store ammunition. There were guns and monuments on display here.

Entrance to the proof yard.

Monument in the proof yard.

Monument in the proof yard.

Phew!!! It was a busy day, as always, I had had too much sun. I had no energy left to look round Shau Kei Wan. I headed home.