Published : 27/07/2025
A new landmark has recently been added to the Central Harbourfront in Hong Kong——the Hong Kong Maritime Museum Jockey Club Anchor Plaza. Exhibited in the centre of the square is the world's largest anchor, a seven-metre-high anchor from the cargo vessel "Seawise Giant" (海上巨人號).
In Hong Kong, there are two museums with the "sea" as their theme: one is the Hong Kong Maritime Museum in Central, and the other is Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence in Shau Kei Wan. Do you know how the two are positioned differently?
Highlights of HK Maritime Museum: Marine trade, shipping technology and port development
The difference between the two museums can be inferred from their names. Simply put, Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence Wan in Shau Kei Wan focused on military and historical themes, while the Hong Kong Maritime Museum in Central focuses on introducing marine trade, port development, and shipping technology.
Unlike most museums in Hong Kong, the Maritime Museum is not managed by Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), but was founded by members of Hong Kong's shipping industry. Inside the museum, you will find exhibition halls named after prominent shipping magnates such as Pao Yue Kong (包玉剛) and Tung Chao Yung (董浩雲).
Victoria Harbour was the core shipping area in Hong Kong during the British colonial period, and it has witnessed the development of Hong Kong's commerce and trade, as well as the rise and fall of its shipping industry. Reading its history in the Maritime Museum next to Victoria Harbour has a special charm.
The Maritime Museum's permanent exhibition, "Hong Kong's Maritime Stories" (香港海事故事), tells the historical story of Hong Kong's transformation from a fishing village to a modern shipping hub.
Through paintings, photographs and ship models from different eras, visitors can understand the evolution of the scenery on both sides of Victoria Harbour, the improvements in Hong Kong's shipbuilding technology, the development of the port city, and the changes in the lives of dock workers.
Another permanent exhibition, "China's Maritime Heritage" (中國海事文化), elaborates on China's long history of maritime development over more than 2,000 years, covering topics from Chinese marine engineering, the single-port trade system, East-West maritime trade, the problem of pirates in the South China Sea, and the development of treaty ports in the 19th to 20th centuries, thereby deepening our understanding of contemporary Chinese maritime development.
Read more: Ming Dynasty navigator Zheng He's first voyage to the Western oceans
For children, the most attractive feature might be the simulator wheelhouse in the "Swire Marine Discovery Centre". Here, one can become a helmsman and experience piloting a container ship, a high-speed vessel, or a Star Ferry.
In the fourth quarter of 2025, the "the Hong Kong Maritime Museum Jockey Club Anchor Plaza", built with a donation from The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, will also be open to the public for free. On the square stands an eye-catching, giant red anchor. It is the world's largest ship anchor, from the largest cargo ship in history, the "Seawise Giant".
According to The Jockey Club, the ship was once owned by Hong Kong shipping magnate Tung Chao yung. It was subsequently sold and renamed several times. After 35 years of sailing, it was dismantled in India in 2010.
Later, Anthony Hardy, the Honorary Chairman of the Maritime Museum, bought it back and overcame many difficulties to transport it back to Hong Kong. Now, as a participant in and witness to the glorious history of Hong Kong's shipping development, the giant anchor has returned to the Central waterfront to take on the role of public education.
Another highlight of the Anchor Plaza is the pavilion passage, inspired by the form of traditional vessels. It uses immersive technology to present two main chapters, "Our Ocean" and "Development of Vessels", complemented by interactive display screens that narrate Hong Kong's maritime legends.
Read more: The rise and success of the King of Shipping Pao Yue Kong
Hong Kong Maritime Museum
Address: Central Pier No. 8
Opening hours: Monday to Friday 9:30am-5:30pm, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 10am-7pm (Closed on the first and second days of the Lunar New Year)
Admission: Adults $30, seniors and children $15
Website: https://www.hkmaritimemuseum.org/
Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence focuses on military and wartime history
Leaving Central Pier and heading to Shau Kei Wan in the eastern part of Hong Kong Island, you'll find the Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence, which was originally a military fortress.
In the late 19th century, the British Hong Kong Government built defensive facilities such as batteries, bunkers, barracks, and tunnels on the southern shore of the Lei Yue Mun, guarding the eastern waterway to Victoria Harbour.
After the World War II, the government transformed this strategically valuable site into a museum. Visitors can overlook the Lei Yue Mun Strait while strolling along the historical trail on the hillside, exploring the weapons and military relics scattered across the mountainside.
At the end of 2024, the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence (香港海防博物館) was officially renamed the "Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence"(香港抗戰及海防博物館), adding the "Thematic Exhibition Gallery on the War of Resistance" (抗戰主題展覽館) to showcase the history of Hong Kong's resistance against Japanese aggression.
Coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression this year, the Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence will hold a thematic exhibition.
According to media reports, the content will outline the organisational role of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Hong Kong during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and will elaborate on the situation in Guangzhou and Hong Kong before and after their fall, allowing the public to have a deeper and better understanding of the history of the Chinse people's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
Hong Kong Museum of the War of Resistance and Coastal Defence
Address: 175 Tung Hei Road, Shau Kei Wan
Opening Hours: March-September 10am-6pm, October-February 10am-5pm (Closed on Thursdays and the first day of the Lunar New Year)
Admission: Free admission
Website: https://hk.waranddefence.museum/
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