Central, Hong Kong

Two weeks ago, I went to Hong Kong for one of the last times – though I'll visit again for a day or two as I fly out of Hong Kong to go home for good – to mainly get a haircut. I went to the Central district of Hong Kong on Hong Kong Island which is where a lot of the skyscrapers are. After getting my haircut in the morning, I visited three attractions.

It started drizzling as I walked to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Museum. It is located in Kom Tong Hall and the museum opened in 2006, so as to commemorate the 140th birthday of the influential Chinese statesman. The hall was a residence until 1960 when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints purchased the building. The building was subsequently sold to the government in 2004 and turned into a museum. The three-story building is one of the very few surviving structures in Hong Kong dating back to the early 20th century. Admission was 10 HKD ($1.25). It was in Hong Kong where he went to school and nurtured his revolutionary ideas.

The hall, completed in 1914, marks the blending of Chinese and Western architectural styles. The building is really beautiful inside with a grand staircase, numerous rooms, and stained-glass windows. The exhibitions contain reconstructed scenes, photographs, election results, edicts, school-work, models, mannequins, clothing, China, letters, etc. There is also a lecture hall, reading room, video room, activity room, and shop. See the three pics below.

 

After visiting the museum, I walked about 10 minutes to Man Mo Temple. This is the second Man Mo Temple I have been to in Hong Kong. From what I read off the web, a Man Mo Temple or Man Mo Miu is a temple for the worship of the civil or literature god Man Tai / Man Cheong and the martial god Mo Tai / Kwan Tai. The two gods were popularly patronized by scholars and students seeking progress in their study or ranking in the civil examinations in the Ming and Qing dynasties. There are several Man Mo Temples in Hong Kong. The temple I visited on this day is the largest and was built between 1847-1862 and is a fine example of traditional Chinese vernacular architecture. It is decorated with ceramic figurines, granite carvings, plaster moldings and murals; reflecting traditional craftsmanship. Just like some of the other temples I have been to, I love the giant incense coils hanging overhead.

 

For the last attraction, I walked about 20 minutes to the waterfront to go to The Golden Bauhinia Square which is an open area in North Wan Chai. The square was named after the giant statue of a golden Bauhinia at the center of the area, situated outside the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, where the ceremonies for the handover of Hong Kong and the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) was held in July 1997.

The “Forever Blooming Bauhinia” sculpture, a gilded flower bauhinia, is 20 feet high. The structure stands on a red granite pedestal, which is cyclindrical in the upper part and takes the shape of a pyramid in the lower part, representing Chinese territory. The rendering of the Great Wall on the pedestal symbolizes the motherland. The sculpture itself is coated with gold and plated with gold foil. The pedestal is made of red Sichuan granite. The sculpture was presented as a gift to the HKSAR by the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The golden sculpture is in the shape of a bauhinia; the regional flag and emblem of the HKSAR also bear the design of this flower. I like the first pic below, as you can see Hong Kong's flag to the left and the PRC's to the right.

 

Afterward, I headed for a few drinks (and a slice of pizza) and traveled back to Shenzhen in the early evening.