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This area of northeast Hong Kong Island has a couple of interesting museums, including the new Hong Kong Film Archive, although there is little else to keep you here for long. En route to the Museum of Coastal Defence from Shau Kei Wan (either MTR or the last stop on the tram) visit the T'ien Hau Temple on Shau Kei Wan Main Street East, built in 1873, and the more modern Shing Wan Temple on Kan Wa Street.
Sights
Museum of Coastal Defence
175 Tung Hei Rd, Shau Kei Wan, T 2569 1500. 1000-1700. Closed Thu. $10, $5 children. Wed free.
Popular with children, this museum was built on the site of the Lei Yue Mun Fort overlooking Shau Kei Wan typhoon shelter and Kowloon. You are greeted with British-made armoured personnel carriers, originally belonging to the Royal Hong Kong regiment. The main building on the 8/F has displays of Hong Kong’s maritime history neatly divided into the major periods like Ming, Qing, First Opium War, British Period and Japanese Occupation, each with huge illustrations and life-size models. There is also a small exhibition on the life of Dr Sun Yat Sen (recognized as China’s modern founding father and leader of the insurrection against Qing dynasty), an underground battery with the original carved stone floor and the depression range finder where telescopes once stood to see across the bay. A small café has drinks and simple meals and the path back down the hill has been made into a historical trail. l Turn down the nearby A Kung Ngam Village Road to the minuscule Yuk Wong Temple, where a small cluster of tin shacks give a great impression of Hong Kong's past, before everyone lived in concrete blocks.
Hong Kong Film Archive
50 Lei King Rd, Sai Wan Ho, T 2739 2139, http://www.filmarchive.gov.hk Main exhibition hall: 1000-2000. Box office: 1200-2000. Resource centre: 1000-1900 Mon-Fri, 1000-1700 Sat, 1300-1700 Sun and public holidays, closed Thu.
This wonderful centre was opened in January 2001 and is dedicated to preserving Hong Kong’s film heritage with an expansive collection of films and artefacts and by holding regular seminars, retrospectives and festivals to promote film. The 3/F Resources Centre houses over 4,300 films, plus thousands of books, magazines and audio-visual material, and four individual viewing booths ($50/day). The ground floor has a large gallery, usually the work of contemporary local artists or photographers, proving that art can be displayed in an innovative and original way. Although hardly noticeable, there is a tiny display next to the information counter selling books of postcards (beautiful collections of images) on Hong Kong Martial Art Movies, The Early Days of Hong Kong Cinema and Film Archive Treasures, costing between $10-20.
Law Uk Folk Museum
14 Kut Shing St, Chai Wan, T 2896 7006. MTR: Chai Wan. 1000-1300 and 1400-1800 Mon-Wed and Fri-Sat, 1300-1800 Sun and some public holidays, closed Thu and some public holidays.
Within walking distance of the Museum of Coastal Defence, the Folk Museum was converted from a restored 18th-century Hakka village house and Law Uk (literally ‘Law’s House’), is the last of its kind in Chai Wan. The Law family bought it during the Qing Dynasty, a typical Hakka house with its back to the mountain and its front facing the sea, although now, of course, with the widespread reclamation the area is now landlocked. The interior is based around a central hall, the bedrooms and loft at the sides and it has all been furnished with authentic village furniture and farming tools.
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