Might on display

Head to The Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defense, which offers a glimpse of a rarely seen side of a city that is suffused with history

It sounds like a place that is off the beaten track, and it is. The HongKong Museum of Coastal Defense stands overlooking the eastern approach toVictoria Harbor -- a 20-minute subway ride from central Hong Kong, itoffers up a rarely-glimpsed side of the city that is suffused withhistory.

It's understandable that visitors to Hong Kong don't know or even seek itshistorical roots, but it's definitely present for those who care to look.The Museum of Coastal Defense is one of the little-known stories of thisport city, that has seen colonial vicissitudesto Japaneseoccupation, and acenturies-old insistence on standing slightly apart fromthe mainland.

Though largely open-air with several vantage points and displays ofdisused weaponry, the museumalso houses permanentexhibitions about Hong Kong's naval history going back eight centuries.Enthusiasts of naval jargon and weapons inventory will not be disappointedby the detailed explanations of the British Empire's strategic decisionsor trade treaties hammered out by the Chinese over the centuries. Butsprawling grounds that have been preserved since World War II enrich thenarrative of Hong Kong's trade andcolonial status, making the museum an enjoyable stop for the majority ofvisitors.

Designers of the museum have made full use of thenatural light in which thiseastern hilltop basks, while also preserving a bunker-like atmosphereinside the building. A stroll around the ruined battlements, undergroundammo storage spaces, and a path leading right down to the waterfront givesthe place a nostalgic feel, invoking allthe commercial and military activity the city has seen over the years.The narrative of the exhibition presents many perspectives on the city'sevolution--local, Mainland Chinese, British, Portuguese--but there is amarked shift in tone when describing the Japanese occupation of 1941,which caused much social and economic hardship on the island till 1945,when the British regained control. This change in tone is just asnoteworthy (though more negative) as the statements on the 1997 Handoverto Beijing, which are clearly government-generated.

Along with replica models of heavy artillery, theexhibition holds documents and artifacts, and the oddreference to "legendary" Chinese pirates, British "Volunteer" soldiers, andsimilar remarkable figures.

The museum offers sweeping alternative views of the harbor, unencumberedby pollution and billboards, as part of its presentation. There is also amarketplace and a small temple just down the road that are worth exploringbefore taking the scenic bus ride to destinations on the south-eastern tipof Hong Kong Island.

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