Name (English): Dr. Sun Yat-sen Museum
Name (Chinese): 孫中山紀念館
Category: Arts, Music & Museum, Historical
Phone Number: +852 2367 6373
Address (English): 7 Castle Road, Mid-Levels, Central, Hong Kong
Address (Chinese): 香港中環半山衞城道7號
Address Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/PG9T6yZr3CvTHyjV6
Address longitude and latitude: 22.28204213346401, 114.15089869493987
Nearest MTR Station: Central Station Exit D1
Nearest MTR Station Google Map Link: https://goo.gl/maps/TzwujZPWBcw47tKPA
Nearest MTR Station longitude and latitude: 22.281841745225922, 114.15724081745246
How far from the nearest MTR Station: 15-minute walk from Central MTR Exit D1
Opening Hours:
MON 10:00 – 18:00
TUE 10:00 – 18:00
WED 10:00 – 18:00
THU Closed
FRI 10:00 – 18:00
SAT 10:00 – 19:00
SUN 10:00 – 19:00
Recommended Time to Visit: Any opening hours
Accessibility Note: Easy access
Hong Kong has always been the epicentre of political dissent. In the last decade, we saw Occupying Central and a series of protests sparked by the Extradition Bill; more than a century ago, here nurtured the now most highly honoured—though in those days most direly wanted—reformist: Sun Yat-sen (孫中山). “The father of the nation” received education and orchestrated revolts predominately around Hong Kong’s Central & Western district, so there’s no better option than retrofitting Kom Tong Hall (甘棠第), an antique building at Mid-levels, into the Dr. Sun Yan-sen Museum.
The commemorative facility used to be the residence of Ho Kom-tong (何甘棠), the younger brother of philanthropist Sir Robert Ho Tung (何東). An Edwardian mansion built in 1914, the premise itself is a declared monument and was home to relics as invaluable as those of Dr. Sun. The first floor of the museum is therefore dedicated to recount the property’s history and adaptation.
The “Dr. Sun Yat-sen and Modern China” hall on the second floor is the typical biography section you can expect to see. From his schooling at the University of Hong Kong, to his long journey of exile and revolutions, then his eventual death, you are guided through every life-changing stage of this acclaimed figure. If you wish to learn more after going through the exhibition cabinets, there’s a reading room with an extensive collection of books about Sun himself, people around him, and the political environment of that era.
Hong Kong had already been a British possession when Sun and his allies were plotting their uprisings. The “Hong Kong in Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Time” hall tries to provide an explanation of how this easily-overlooked city was in fact the perfect cradle for their revolution, for instance its bilingual education system and judicial independence from the Qing monarchy. On a wall of the hall hangs quotes of notable scholars about the seemingly more advanced and prosperous colony. A saying of Lu Xun (魯迅) goes: “although Hong Kong is merely an island, it vividly mirrors the present and future life in many parts of China.”
The two books symbolizes the Chinese and Western ideologies the political forerunner encompassed.
As we once again stand at the watershed of Chinese history, the weight of Sun’s story could not be felt heavier. A proponent of modern values and armed uprisings, Sun had earned all the respect; how, then, will our story be told? Celebrated? Condemned? Or…censored?
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