Centenary of China's 1911 Revolution Exhibition

This actually sounds really fun. If you register in time, you can join ten people in learning how to make your own wooden historic plaque! So exciting!


Centenary of China’s 1911 Revolution

2 March – 16 May 2011

Closed on Tuesdays (except public holidays)
Special Exhibition Gallery
Admission Fee (including "The Hong Kong Story" permanent exhibition):
Standard：HK$10
Group of 20 or more：HK$7
Full-time students / senior citizens / people with disabilities：HK$5
Free Admission on Wednesdays

Free Admission for holders of Museum Pass and Weekly Pass

Jointly presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Hubei Provincial Museum
Organised by the Hong Kong Museum of History

This year marks the centenary of the 1911 Revolution, the epoch-making event that had far-reaching consequences for the fate of the Chinese people. It brought an end to imperial rule in China and also represented the birth of Asia’s first republic. A hugely important milestone on China’s road to modernisation, it is also of remarkable significance for the development of global politics.

The first decade of the 20th century was a time of great upheaval in China. Revolutionary currents were never far from the surface, while reformists and reactionaries struggled to gain the upper hand in the Qing government. After the war with the Eight-Nation Alliance, the Empress Dowager Cixi was finally persuaded to launch a series of political, economic, military and educational reforms. However, two policies announced by the Qing court in May 1911 – the formation of a new “imperial cabinet” and the nationalisation of the railways – caused huge public resentment and drove many people into the revolutionary camp. The success of the Wuchang Uprising on 10 October 1911 then started a chain reaction, and in less than two months 14 out of the 18 provinces within China’s main borders had declared independence. The imperial regime had been overthrown and replaced by a republican system, signifying a new era of modern China.

Celebrating the centenary of the 1911 Revolution, this exhibition showcases over 150 exhibits from Hubei Provincial Museum and other collections as well as historical images, videos and maps to illustrate this milestone in China's modern history and also highlight the immense contribution that Hong Kong made to this revolution.


The Museum offers public guided tours and pre-booked group visit with docent services from 9 March 2011 (Wed) onwards.

Group Visits

Public Guided Tours (in Cantonese)
Each tour lasts for about 1 hour and admits 30 persons on a first come, first served basis. Please gather at the “Docent Stop” at the entrance of the Special Exhibition Gallery according to the following schedule：

Session 1：11:30 am daily
Session 2：3 pm daily

The Hong Kong Museum of History
100 Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong (next to the Hong Kong Science Museum)
Tel. : (852) 2724 9042
Fax. : (852) 2724 9090

Sorry for the tiny pictures, but they were the only ones I could find on the Website. Most of these paintings and posters have been spirited away to other countries, so this is a rare chance to see them all in one location.

Hong Kong Heritage Museum

I actually wrote this a couple of years ago for something else, but since I'm not sure if I'll be heading to the Heritage Museum any time soon, I thought I'd just recycle it. I went there for an exhibit on Haute Couture (obviously, it's no longer there).


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I made the trek out to Sha Tin in the New Territories to check out the Haute Couture from the 1940s to 1950s exhibit.

I haven't been to the Heritage Museum since it first opened almost ten years ago, and so I got a bit lost on the way. I took a wrong turn and ended up at some Christian hiking society. Check out the pictures I took.




I climbed all the way up there in a bandeau dress and four-inch heels, heifers! When I got to the top, some expat minister-type came out the door and asked me if I was looking for Jesus.

Me: Er...the only Christian I'm interested in is Dior.

Anyway, it was quite an exciting side trip because I stumbled upon one of the old Sha Tin villages and saw a bunch of delectable, shirtless village hoodlums. I would've taken a picture but I was feeling very unglamourous what with all the sweat covering me, so I decided to just ogle and take pictures of other things, like...leaves.




This is the Heritage Museum. There's some kind of water fowl that live there, they're the white specks in the picture. There's a bike path that made me nostalgic for Taiwan.




They didn't allow people to take pictures at the Haute Couture exhibit, but I was perfectly happy to photograph the stuff in the permanent exhibits. The following are from the cultural relics exhibit.

Check it out, this is a representation of a nomadic tribesman from, I guess, what is called Mongolia now. Look at his headdress! That ninja is wearing a fucking tiger! I want one.



This is why there are more than one billion Chinese people. I mean, Jesus, if our cooking tools look like this...


This is a tomb guard that has the claws of an eagle, legs of a tiger, horns of a deer, face of a dragon and wings of a bat. I took a lot of pictures of tomb guards for future reference for tattoo ideas.


Sorry for the dim picture, they didn't allow flash photography. I love those room dividers. Back when my family had money, we had these giant ones that were carved out of jade. They were so fucking heavy, my dad had to have the floors reinforced. Ah, the good old days when we were rich!


This is a close-up of a Tibetan outfit.


This is a detail of a Tibetan statue of a god either eating or sexing someone.


If I ever get married again, I'd love to have my wedding pics look like this.


I also got to check out the Cantonese opera exhibit. It's one of the permanent exhibits, and really amazing. Worth going to the museum for this alone. This is the entrance from the inside. By the way, my pictures start to get pretty shitty from here on because I'd been walking around for a couple of hours already and my feet were beginning to hurt.


The banners next to the stage.


A typical outdoor Cantonese opera stage. I felt so nostalgic.


Tableaux.


The wax figure in the back looks confused, doesn't it? Like he suddenly forgot his lines?


They had a scale model of the bamboo structure that is erected to form the theatre. Isn't it amazing how much work is put into something that is torn down in a couple of weeks? Very Buddhist, like making a mandala. Just because the results of something are only temporary, it doesn't mean that you don't put in all your effort. It's the process that's the most important thing.


And, of course, there was a real one inside the exhibition hall, too.


We got to see backstage stuff.



I couldn't resist taking a picture of this mahjong auntie because she looks like a power diva. Look at the sheer bitchiness of her face! I need to perfect that look: part smile, part sneer and the side-eye of doom. My God! And seriously, I need to have a qi pao with a heart-shaped cutout like that. GORGEOUS. This is such an inspirational photo for me, seriously.


They had an interactive computer thing where you get photographed and have Chinese opera masks overlaid on your face.

This is me as a general.


This is me as Guan Gong (of course, I had to get him,  he's my favourite god!). Not very successful since you can't see my face.


This me as Sun Wu Kong (also known as the Monkey King).


This is me as that little kid who's a god, as well. I forget his name, but he usually prances around in diapers and with little hair buns on his head.


All in all a very tiring and satisfactory day.


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If you have the time to head over to Sha Tin, I really do suggest visiting the Heritage Museum. You can check out the current exhibitions at their Web site here. To get to the museum, take the MTR to Che Kung Temple Station. It's to your left when you exit. Don't cross the street!

And while you're in Sha Tin, you might want to check out Che Kung Temple, as well, too. I guess I should write an entry about it some day. The site has been around since the Ming Dynasty, and people visit Che Kung to pray for good health and good luck. I know that it's the destination for a lot of hardcore gamblers.

ArtAlive@Park!

See, it annoys me when people say that Hong Kong doesn't have any culture or art. Those people are obviously too uncool and lame to know what's going on. Don't listen to them, they are morons.

Another series of events happening in the next few weeks (actually, they've already started, oops) are organized by ArtAlive@Park! which is an effort to get people doing all kinds of stuff in Hong Kong's parks.

The great thing about this is that free shuttle buses are available so you don't have to miss out on anything!

I'm really interested in the following activities:

Last year, Uncle Hung’s story-telling became children’s favourite so “Story” has decided to stay and play with the kids, without realising that Uncle Hung forgot to take them home! This year, Uncle Hung is back again to the parks. He wonders, what have the stories he left behind become and is he able to recognize them still?

It is not only kids who love stories. Adults too are fascinated by the drama of stories that looks familiar. Story telling is an attempt to inherit community life, though unfortunately it is being forgotten amidst people’s busy lives. A park is a good place to rekindle it.

A story will invite another story, or else there will be no more stories in this world. This year, visitors are most welcome to bring their own stories along. A community means the interaction of telling and listening!

Yuen Chi Hung

Yuen is widely known as Uncle Hung the Storyteller. During his early ages in Canada, he aspired to model upon the professional storytellers who travel around Europe. He really became one in 1994 when he came back to Hong Kong. Since then, he traveled everywhere, from schools, streets, city centres to villages, telling stories to all ages alike, and making a lot of friends within the many stories.

The upcoming dates are:
15/1/2011 2:30-3:30pm Scented Garden, Tuen Mun Park
22/1/2011 2:30-3:30pm Back Lawn, Museum of Tea Ware, Hong Kong Park
29/1/2011 2:30-3:30pm Children Playground, Kowloon Park

I might try to go on the 22nd since I like that park the best. Not that I've been to Tuen Mun Park, but I don't like Kowloon Park because the last time I was there, I got bitten by a mysterious insect that left a giant swelling on my butt that looked like a tumour. I swear to you, my ex-husband wanted to take a photograph and send it to a scientific journal because it was so large.

I'm also curious about this:

Drum for Joy

Drumming is a simple yet powerful activity that is accessible to all, transcending gender, age and culture.

Led by Kumi Masunaga and other experienced facilitators, the event will motivate, energise and connects people, and relieve stress. Both participants and spectators can enjoy an uplifting and harmonious musical journey.

Up to 80 drums and percussion instruments will be provided for participants. Come and join us!

Kumi Masunaga is the founder and director of Drum Jam. She is also a leading facilitator, delivering a wealth of experience and boundless enthusiasm to each programme. She is a professional percussionist, HealthRhythms® trained facilitator and Remo endorser.

16/1/2011 3-4pm North Garden Lawn, Sha Tin Park
23/1/2011 3-4pm Self-Entertainment Zone, Tuen Mun Park

Anyway, there are a lot more activities, including dance, music and art events. Check out their Web site here for more information.

Museum of Medical Science

I think there was some kind of shindig at the Museum of Medical Science. Don't you just love Hong Kong for devoting a museum to something like that? It says a lot about Chinese culture, don't you think? One day, I'll put up a proper entry on this museum.

This young gent was just as puzzled as I was.