Dr Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail
The Dr Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail was set up in November 1996 by the Central and Western District Council to commemorate the 130th birthday of Sun Yat-sen. It includes 15 spots in the areas of Central and Sheung Wan in Hong Kong, related to the life of Sun Yat-sen and other revolutionaries in the late Qing era; the Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail, it was renovated and renamed and two spots were added to it when Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum was opened in 2006. Heritage Trails in Hong Kong Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum, near the trail Brochures of the Dr Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail: brochure part 1, brochure part 2, map
Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen was a Chinese politician, medical doctor and philosopher who served as the provisional first president of the Republic of China. He is referred to as the "Father of the Nation" in the Republic of China due to his role in the overthrow of the Qing dynasty during the Xinhai Revolution. Sun remains a unique figure among 20th-century Chinese characters for being revered in both mainland China and Taiwan. Although Sun is considered to be one of the greatest leaders of modern China, his political life was one of constant struggle and frequent exile. After the success of the revolution and the Han Chinese regaining power after 268 years of living under Manchurian rule, he resigned from his post as President of the newly founded Republic of China to Yuan Shikai, led successive revolutionary governments as a challenge to the warlords who controlled much of the nation. Sun did not live to see his party consolidate its power over the country during the Northern Expedition, his party, which formed a fragile alliance with the Chinese Communist Party, split into two factions after his death.
Sun's chief legacy resides in his developing of the political philosophy known as the Three Principles of the People: nationalism, "rights of the people", sometimes translated as "democracy", the people's livelihood. Sun was born as Sun Wen, his genealogical name was Sun Deming; as a child, his pet name was Tai Tseung. Sun's courtesy name was Zaizhi, his baptized name was Rixin. While at school in Hong Kong he got the art name Yat-sen. Sūn Zhōngshān, the most popular of his Chinese names, is derived from his Japanese name Nakayama Shō, the pseudonym given to him by Tōten Miyazaki while in hiding in Japan. Sun Yat-sen was born on 12 November 1866 to Madame Yang, his birthplace was the village of Xiangshan County, Guangdong. He had a cultural background of Cantonese, his father owned little land and worked as a tailor in Macau, as a journeyman and a porter. After finishing primary education, he moved to Honolulu in the Kingdom of Hawaii, where he lived a comfortable life of modest wealth supported by his elder brother Sun Mei.
At the age of 10, Sun Yat-sen began seeking schooling, he met childhood friend Lu Haodong. By age 13 in 1878, after receiving a few years of local schooling, Sun went to live with his elder brother, Sun Mei in Honolulu. Sun Mei financed Sun Yat-sen's education and would be a major contributor for the overthrow of the Manchus. During his stay in Honolulu, Sun Yat-sen went to ʻIolani School where he studied English, British history, mathematics and Christianity. While he was unable to speak English, Sun Yat-sen picked up the language and received a prize for academic achievement from King David Kalākaua before graduating in 1882, he attended Oahu College for one semester. In 1883 he was sent home to China as his brother was becoming worried that Sun Yat-sen was beginning to embrace Christianity; when he returned to China in 1883 at age 17, Sun met up with his childhood friend Lu Haodong again at Beijidian, a temple in Cuiheng Village. They saw many villagers worshipping the Beiji Emperor-God in the temple, were dissatisfied with their ancient healing methods.
They broke the statue, incurring the wrath of fellow villagers, escaped to Hong Kong. While in Hong Kong in 1883 he studied at the Diocesan Boys' School, from 1884 to 1886 he was at The Government Central School. In 1886 Sun studied medicine at the Guangzhou Boji Hospital under the Christian missionary John G. Kerr, he earned the license of Christian practice as a medical doctor from the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese in 1892. Notably, of his class of 12 students, Sun was one of the only two. In the early 1880s, Sun Mei sent his brother to ʻIolani School, under the supervision of British Anglicans and directed by an Anglican prelate named Alfred Willis; the language of instruction was English. Although Bishop Willis emphasized that no one was forced to accept Christianity, the students were required to attend chapel on Sunday. At Iolani School, young Sun Wen first came in contact with Christianity, it made a deep impression on him. Schriffin writes that Christianity was to have a great influence on Sun's whole future political life.
Sun was baptized in Hong Kong by Rev. C. R. Hager an American missionary of the Congregational Church of the United States to his brother's disdain; the minister would develop a friendship with Sun. Sun attended To Tsai Church, founded by the London Missionary Society in 1888, while he studied Western Medicine in Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese. Sun pictured a revolution as similar to the salvation mission of the Christian church, his conversion to Christianity was related to his revolutionary ideals and push for advancement. In 1924 Liao Chongzhen, a prominent and influential government official of the day, arranged a meeting between Sun and Martha Root, a well-known journalist and traveling teacher of the Bahá'í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. In this meeting Sun came into contact with the Teachings of the Bahá'í Faith, expressing his appreciation for the Cause and declaring it "highly relevant to the
History of Hong Kong (1800s–1930s)
Hong Kong was a period dominated by the British Empire. After invading the territory in 19th century during the Opium War, the British gained land in a series of unequal treaties. Hong Kong became one of the first parts of East Asia to undergo industrialisation. China was the main supplier of its native tea to the British, whose annual domestic consumption reached 30,050,000 pounds in 1830, an average of 1.04 pounds per head of population. From the British economic standpoint, Chinese tea was a crucial item since it provided massive wealth for the taipans—foreign businessmen in China—while the duty on tea accounted for 10% of the government's income. Since the ill-fated Macartney Mission of 1793, British diplomats resented performing kowtow as a form of obsequience to the Emperor of China. Many considered it a religious rite and although they insisted on being treated as equals, the British and other foreign nationals were seen by the Qing Emperor and court officials as uncivilised foreigners only there to acquire tea and other Chinese goods.
At the time, China's social structure, as dictated by Confucian tradition, looked down on merchants, ranking them below farmers and above slaves, since they were considered citizens who only enriched themselves. Some of the earliest items sold to China in exchange for tea were British clocks and musical boxes known as "sing-songs"; these were not enough to compensate for the trade imbalance caused by the massive quantities of tea exported and the insistence by the Chinese that it be paid for in silver. After the 1757 territorial conquest of Bengal in India, the British had access to opium, which when mixed with water was used in western society as an analgesic tincture; the Chinese, on the other hand, smoked opium in an addictive narcotic manner. Since a large fiscal deficit existed in Bengal, opium exports became a British government means to raise tax though it meant an increase in the number of Chinese people addicted to the drug. Lin Zexu, a special Chinese commissioner appointed by the Qing Daoguang Emperor, wrote a letter to Queen Victoria in 1839 taking a stance against the acceptance of opium in trade.
He confiscated more than 20,000 chests of opium in Hong Kong and supervised their destruction. The Queen saw the destruction of British products as an insult and sent the first expeditionary force to the region; the First Opium War began at the hands of Captain Charles Elliot of the Royal Navy and Capt. Anthony Blaxland Stransham of the Royal Marines. After a series of Chinese defeats, Hong Kong Island was occupied by the British on 20 January 1841. Sir Edward Belcher, aboard HMS Sulphur, landed in Hong Kong on 25 January 1841. Possession Street still exists to mark the event. Commodore Sir Gordon Bremer raised the Union Jack and claimed Hong Kong as a colony on 26 January 1841, he erected naval store sheds there in April 1841. The island was first used by the British as a staging post during the war, while the East India Company intended to establish a permanent base on the island of Zhoushan, Elliot took it upon himself to claim the island on a permanent basis; the ostensible authority for the occupation was negotiated between Captain Eliot and the Viceroy of Liangguang, the Manchu official Qishan.
The Convention of Chuenpi was concluded but had not been recognised by the Qing Dynasty court at Beijing. Subsequently, Hong Kong Island was ceded to Britain in 1842 under the Treaty of Nanking, when the territory became a Crown colony; the Opium War was ostensibly fought to liberalise trade with China. With a base in Hong Kong, British traders, opium dealers, merchants including Jardine Matheson & Co. and Dent & Co. launched the city which would become the'free trade' nexus of the East. American opium traders and merchant bankers such as the Russell and Forbes families would soon join the trade. On signature of the 1860 Convention of Peking, which marked the end of formal ended hostilities in the Second Opium War, Britain acquired the area south of Boundary Street on the Kowloon Peninsula rent-free under a perpetual lease. In 1898, the Qing government reluctantly agreed to the Convention between Great Britain and China Respecting an Extension of Hong Kong Territory that compelled China to cede a further area north of Boundary Street to the Sham Chun River along with more than two hundred nearby islands.
Seen by the British government as vital to safeguard the defensive capabilities of Hong Kong, these areas became collectively known as the New Territories. The 99-year lease would expire at midnight on 30 June, 1997; when the union flag was raised over Possession Point on 26 January 1841, the population of Hong Kong island was about 7,450 Tanka fishermen and Hakka charcoal burners living in a number of coastal villages. In the 1850s large numbers of Chinese would emigrate from China to Hong Kong due to the Taiping Rebellion. Other events such as floods and famine in mainland China would play a role in establishing Hong Kong as a place to escape the mayhem. According to the census of 1865, Hong Kong had a population of 125,504, of which some 2,000 were Americans and Europeans. In 1914 despite an exodus of 60,000 Chinese fearing an attack on the colony during World War I, Hong Kong's population continued to increase from 530,000 in 1916 to 725,000 in 1925 and 1.6 million by 1941. The establishment of the free port made Hong Kong a major entrepôt from the start, attracting people from China and Europe alike.
The society remained racially segregated and polarised due to British colonial policies and attitudes. Despite the rise of a British-educated Chinese upper class by the late 19th century, race laws such as the Peak Reservation Ordinanc
Marketplace
A market, or marketplace, is a location where people gather for the purchase and sale of provisions and other goods. In different parts of the world, a market place may be described as a souk, bazaar, a fixed mercado, or itinerant tianguis, or palengke; some markets operate daily and are said to be permanent markets while others are held once a week or on less frequent specified days such as festival days and are said to be periodic markets. The form that a market adopts depends on its locality's population, culture and geographic conditions; the term market covers many types of trading, as market squares, market halls and food halls, their different varieties. Due to this, marketplaces can be situated both indoors. Markets have existed for as long; the earliest bazaars are believed to have originated in Persia, from where they spread to the rest of the Middle East and Europe. Documentary sources suggest that zoning policies confined trading to particular parts of cities from around 3,000 BCE, creating the conditions necessary for the emergence of a bazaar.
Middle Eastern bazaars were long strips with stalls on either side and a covered roof designed to protect traders and purchasers from the fierce sun. In Europe, unregulated markets made way for a system of formal, chartered markets from the 12th century. Throughout the Medieval period, increased regulation of marketplace practices weights and measures, gave consumers confidence in the quality of market goods and the fairness of prices. Around the globe, markets have evolved in different ways depending on local ambient conditions weather and culture. In the Middle East, markets tend to be covered, to protect shoppers from the sun. In milder climates, markets are open air. In Asia, a system of morning markets trading in fresh produce and night markets trading in non-perishables is common. In many countries, shopping at a local market is a standard feature of daily life. Given the market's role in ensuring food supply for a population, markets are highly regulated by a central authority. In many places, designated market places have become listed sites of historic and architectural significance and represent part of a town or nation's cultural assets.
For these reasons, they are popular tourist destinations. The term market comes from the Latin mercatus; the earliest recorded use of the term market in English is in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of 963, a work, created during the reign of Alfred the Great and subsequently distributed, copied throughout English monasteries. The exact phrase was “Ic wille þæt markete beo in þe selue tun,” which translates as “I want to be at that market in the good town.” Markets have existed since ancient times. Some historians have argued that a type of market has existed since humans first began to engage in trade. Open air, public markets were known in ancient Babylonia, Phoenecia, Egypt and on the Arabian peninsula. However, not all societies developed a system of markets; the Greek historian, Herodotus noted. Across the Mediterranean and Aegean, a network of markets emerged from the early Bronze Age. A vast array of goods were traded including: salt, lapiz-lazuli, cloth, pots, statues and other implements. Archaeological evidence suggests that Bronze Age traders segmented trade routes according to geographical circuits.
Both produce and ideas travelled along these trade routes. In the Middle-East, documentary sources suggest that a form of bazaar first developed around 3,000 BCE. Early bazaars occupied a series of alleys along the length of the city stretching from one city gate to a different gate on the other side of the city; the bazaar at Tabriz, for example, stretches along 1.5 kilometres of street and is the longest vaulted bazaar in the world. Moosavi argues that the Middle-Eastern bazaar evolved in a linear pattern, whereas the market places of the West were more centralised; the Greek historian, noted that in Egypt, roles were reversed compared with other cultures and Egyptian women frequented the market and carried on trade, while the men remain at home weaving cloth. He described a The Babylonian Marriage Market. In antiquity, markets were situated in the town's centre; the market was surrounded by alleyways inhabited by skilled artisans, such as metal-workers, leather workers and carpenters. These artisans may have sold wares directly from their premises, but prepared goods for sale on market days.
Across ancient Greece market places were to be found in most city states, where they operated within the agora. Between 550 and 350 BCE, Greek stallholders clustered together according to the type of goods carried - fish-sellers were in one place, clothing in another and sellers of more expensive goods such as perfumes and jars were located in a separate building; the Greeks organised trade into all located near the city centre and known as stoa. A freestanding colonnade with a covered walkway, the stoa was both a place of commerce and a public promenade, situated within or adjacent to the agora. At the market-place in Athens, officials were employed by the government to oversee weights and coinage to ensure that the people were not cheated in market place transactions; the rocky and mountainous terrain in Greece made it difficult for producers to transport goods or surpluses to local markets, giving rise to a specialised type of retailer who operated as an intermediary purchasing produce from farmers
Dim sum
Dim sum is a style of Chinese cuisine prepared as small bite-sized portions of food served in small steamer baskets or on a small plate. Dim sum dishes are served with tea and together form a full tea brunch. Due to the Cantonese tradition of enjoying tea with this cuisine, yum cha, which means "drink tea" in Cantonese, is synonymous with dim sum. Dim sum traditionally are served as cooked, ready-to-serve dishes. In some Cantonese teahouses, carts with dim sum are served around the restaurant. Dim sum is linked with the older tradition from yum cha for example, people call it is “One cup accompanied by two pieces” in Hong Kong, which has its roots in travelers on the ancient Silk Road needing a place to rest. Thus, teahouses were established along the roadside. An imperial physician in the third century wrote that combining tea with food would lead to excessive weight gain. People discovered that tea can aid in digestion, so teahouse owners began adding various snacks; the unique culinary art dim sum originated with the Cantonese in Guangzhou and after that its transmitted inward to Hong Kong, who over the centuries transformed yum cha from a relaxing respite to a loud and happy dining experience.
In Hong Kong and most cities and towns in Guangdong province many restaurants start serving dim sum as early as five in the morning, each cantonese restaurant will have its own signature dim sum dish. It is a tradition for the elderly to gather to eat dim sum after morning exercises. For many in southern China, yum cha is treated as a weekend family day. More traditional dim sum restaurants serve dim sum until mid-afternoon. However, in modern society, it has become commonplace for restaurants to serve dim sum at dinner time. A traditional dim sum brunch includes various types of steamed buns such as cha siu bao, rice or wheat dumplings and rice noodle rolls, which contain a range of ingredients, including beef, pork and vegetarian options. Many dim sum restaurants offer plates of steamed green vegetables, roasted meats and other soups. Dessert dim sum is available and many places offer the customary egg tart. Dim sum is eaten as breakfast or brunch. Dim sum can be cooked among other methods; the serving sizes are small and served as three or four pieces in one dish.
It is customary to order family style. Because of the small portions, people can try a wide variety of food. Dim sum brunch restaurants have a wide variety of dishes several dozen. Among the standard fare of dim sum are the following: Dumpling Shrimp dumpling: Steamed dumpling with shrimp filling. Teochew dumpling: Steamed dumpling with peanuts, chives, dried shrimp, Chinese mushrooms. Xiao long bao: Dumplings are filled with meat or seafood with a rich broth inside. Guotie: Pan-fried dumpling with meat and cabbage filling. Shaomai: Steamed dumplings with pork and prawns. Topped off with crab roe and mushroom. Taro dumpling: Deep fried dumpling made with mashed taro, stuffed with diced mushrooms and pork. Haam Seui Gok: Deep fried dumpling with pork and chopped vegetables; the wrapping is sweet and sticky, while the filling is salty and savoury. Dumpling soup: Soup with one or two big dumplings. Rolls Spring roll: A deep fried roll consisting of various sliced vegetables and sometimes meat. Tofu skin roll: A roll made of tofu skin filled with various meat and sliced vegetables.
Rice noodle roll: Steamed rice noodles and filled with meats or vegetables inside but can be served plain. Popular fillings include beef, dough fritter and barbecued pork. Served with a sweetened soy sauce. Bun Barbecued pork bun: Bun with barbecued pork filling, they can either be steamed to be baked to golden. The baked variant are called. Sweet cream buns: Steamed buns with milk custard filling. Pineapple bun: a bread roll with a topping textured like pineapple skin sweet. Does not contain pineapple. Cake Turnip cake: puddings made from shredded white radish, mixed with bits of dried shrimp, Chinese sausage and mushroom, they are steamed cut into slices and pan-fried. Taro cake: puddings made of taro. Water chestnut cake: puddings made of crispy water chestnut; some restaurants serve a variation made with bamboo juice. Steamed meatball: Steamed meatballs served on top of a thin bean-curd skin. Phoenix claws: Deep fried and steamed chicken feet with douchi. A
Mid-Levels
Mid-Levels is an affluent residential area on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It is located between Victoria Central. Residents are predominantly more affluent Hong Kong locals and expatriate professionals; the Mid-Levels is further divided into four areas: Mid-Levels West, Mid-Levels Central, stretching from Garden Road in the west to Happy Valley in the east), Mid-Levels East, Mid-Levels North. Aside from the panoramic view of Victoria Harbour or the rest of the city or both, it is close to Central and Admiralty, which are both significant business areas, thus providing easy and convenient access for the business people living in Mid-Levels. An added attraction of the Mid-Levels is its close proximity to nature and comparatively better air quality than many parts of the Hong Kong Island. Many wealthy people in Hong Kong are willing to pay higher residential property price for a residence, away from pollution and yet remain so close to the centre of the city. Many streets are named after former Governors of Hong Kong.
Examples include Kennedy Road. Many of the roads in this area are within walking distance of the Central Business District, accessible by the Mid-Levels escalator from Central. Many choices for housing are available, from ultra-luxurious apartments to compact, near-luxury apartments; the costs of these apartments vary according to the size and age of the building. The cost ranges from the high ten million dollars to over five hundred million Hong Kong dollars for an apartment in a Frank Gehry-designed building. Many prestigious colleges and schools can be found in Mid-Levels, including the University of Hong Kong, St Francis' Canossian College, Island School, King's College, Ying Wa Girls' School, St. Paul's Co-educational College and St. Joseph's College, to name a few. Hong Kong Park, 80,000 m2 in area, is located next to Cotton Tree Drive in Central. There are modern facilities surrounded by a natural landscape; the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is one of the oldest Zoological and Botanical centres in the world.
It is located on the northern slope of Victoria Peak and has been opened to the public since 1862. In 1871, it was renamed to Botanical Gardens, in 1975, the name was changed again to Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens; this venerable park was named Bing Tao Garden, meaning the Chief Commander's Garden. It was linked to the garden of the Government House. In 1941, a bronze statue of King George VI was erected in the garden to mark the centenary year in which Hong Kong became a British Colony. Keeping wild animals in the garden can be traced as early as 1876. At that time, animals were kept for entertainment. From 1970s, the emphasis changed to techniques in captive breeding and conservation breeding programmes for zoological collection. Today, the garden has a collection of over 600 birds, 70 mammals and 40 reptiles which are housed in about 40 enclosures; the collection includes orangutans and other primates. There is an active breeding programme for many of these species, notably the orangutans and lemurs which breed in captivity.
The garden keeps for more than 1000 species of inland plant such as conifer, palm, gum trees and magnolia. Besides, a greenhouse at the eastern boundary of the garden houses over 150 native and exotic species including orchids, bromeliads and house plants etc. Lung Fu Shan Country Park covers the densely vegetated slopes of Lung Fu Shan, including the disused Pinewood Battery and the Pinewood Garden picnic area, providing a scenic backdrop to the residential and commercial districts of Hong Kong Island, it is situated at the north of Pok Fu Lam Country Park. Towards the east of Lung Fu Shan Country Park is Hatton Road, to the south is Harlech Road whereas to the north and west is a covered conduit constructed by the Water Supplies Department; this country park covers an area of about 470,000 m2 and commands an excellent vista of the western part of the territory and the Victoria Harbour. Wan Chai Nature Trail is a short footpath and it only takes about 2 hours to complete. Along the way, one can gain knowledge about nature concerning biological and geographical aspects.
Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, a branch museum of the Hong Kong Museum of Art, is located at the Hong Kong Park. The building was built in the 1840s, served as the office and residence of the Commander of the British Forces in Hong Kong, it was converted to the Museum of Tea Ware in 1984, with a new wing, the K. S. Lo Gallery, constructed in 1995. Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware specialises in the collection and display of tea ware; the museum promotes Chinese tea drinking culture through many exhibitions. There are video programmes and audio guides conducted in Cantonese and Japanese, regular presentations and lecture programmes, free guided tours for the visiting tourists; the Chinese Teahouse, a part of the museum, holds serving tea demonstrations regularly. The Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre is located at Kennedy Road in Central, with the main aim of supporting local art creation; the centre was restructured from an early 20th
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs referred to as the Foreign Secretary, is a senior, high-ranking official within the Government of the United Kingdom and head of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Foreign Secretary is a member of the Cabinet, the post is considered one of the Great Offices of State, it is considered a position similar to that of Foreign Minister in other countries. The Foreign Secretary reports directly to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; the Foreign Secretary's remit includes: relations with foreign countries, matters pertaining to the Commonwealth of Nations and the Overseas Territories in addition to the promotion of British interests abroad. The Foreign Secretary has ministerial oversight for the Secret Intelligence Service and the Government Communications Headquarters; the Foreign Secretary works out of the Foreign Office in Whitehall, the post's official residences are 1 Carlton Gardens in London and Chevening in Kent.
Margaret Beckett, appointed in 2006 by Tony Blair, is the only woman to have held the post. The current Foreign Secretary is Jeremy Hunt, following Boris Johnson's resignation on 9 July 2018; the position of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs was created in the British governmental reorganisation of 1782, in which the Northern and Southern Departments became the Home and Foreign Offices, respectively. The position of Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs came into existence in 1968 with the merger of the functions of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs into a single Department of State; the India Office was a constituent predecessor department of the Foreign Office, as were the Colonial Office and the Dominions Office. Post created through the merger of the Commonwealth Office. Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations Secretary of State for the Colonies Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs Foreign minister Great Offices of State FCO website
Hong Kong
