Museum of Coastal Defense

One of the museums on our list of things to see was the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defense. Lei Yue Mun Fort was built in the 1880's to defend the eastern approach to Victoria Harbor and was the most sophisticated coastal fortification in existence at that time. Now it is a museum showcasing many of the guns and vehicles from World War II. The Redoubt also houses several exhibits which change from time to time along with a permanent exhibit on the upper level. The grounds are huge and stretch along the seaside with various gun emplacements and targeting stations all along the sea wall.

Once inside the main building there are exhibit spaces surrounding a large central area. These small rooms were originally used to store ammunition and as barracks. The center area is highlighted by a staircase that features a replica of a battle from the dynastic period of China.

One special exhibit was on the Heavenly Kingdom while another told a most interesting story from World War II. 


On December 8, 1941 (one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor) the Japanese invaded Hong Kong. At that time there were only 12,000 troops in HK with most of them belonging to the Royal Hong Kong Regiment also known as the Volunteers because they were HK residents who trained themselves and helped with all those things today's National Guard may be required to do. The full force of the Japanese army quickly overtook the Kowloon Peninsula but the forces on Hong Kong Island successfully repelled them till Christmas Day. 


Christmas eve a most daring escape was executed in an effort to remove from the potential for capture the top British military and government leaders as well as a very influential Chinese businessman who had been instrumental in passing along information to the British. The entire story is fascinating but the short version tells of their taking several cars and heading to the south side of the island as the Japanese troops were approaching from the north. They took off in small boats under heavy fire and were forced to abandon these skiffs and swim to the nearest island. From there they were picked up by another boat and by then there were about 90 escapees who then had to maneuver through mines laid out in the coastal waters as part of the Japanese blockade which had been in effect for some time. They landed on the mainland behind enemy lines and then had to travel 90 miles on foot to get to the unoccupied territory. They were helped along the way by villagers who hailed them as heroes. Once they managed to fully escape, several took up new positions in China while others were sent back to England. Their journey lasted another five months with them taking a circuitous route through the mountains into Burma (narrowly escaping Burma in front of the advancing Japanese), through India on to South Africa and finally back home. The story is supplemented with artifacts and documents and photos from the personal collections of the survivors and their heirs. It was a very moving exhibit and I found myself feeling much as I did when I visited Pearl Harbor.

Once we finished the exhibits we walked the grounds. From the highest points we had incredible views of the surrounding hills in one direction, the city just next to us in the opposite direction and an old style fishing village across the harbor.

From this high point there are gun batteries and magazines sloping all the way down to sea level.

The path was shaded and the nooks and crannies interesting. It was a very educational and enjoyable afternoon.