Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Center

Current Exhibitions

https://www.amo.gov.hk/tc/visitor-centre/exhibitions/heritage-discovery-centre/index.html

"Sail from the Bay Area: 'Nanhai No. 1' and the Maritime Silk Road" exhibition

16/8/2024 – 12/2/2025

The Maritime Silk Road was a maritime channel for transportation, trade and cultural exchanges between ancient China and overseas countries. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, a multi-level trade port system with Guangzhou Port as the center and Hong Kong, Macau and other places as transit stations gradually took shape. In other words, in the historical development of the Maritime Silk Road, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area plays a pivotal role.

"Nanhai I" was a merchant ship from the Southern Song Dynasty. It was salvaged from the water in 2007. It is the most complete ancient ocean-going merchant ship discovered by archeology to date. A large number of cultural relics were unearthed from "Nanhai No. 1", mainly porcelain, copper and iron wares, gold and silver wares, lacquer wood wares, etc. Their quantity, shape, craftsmanship and shape are all rare among the archaeological materials of the Southern Song Dynasty. Archaeological experts infer that the "Nanhai No. 1" sank on the channel from Guangdong to the South China Sea in or shortly after the 10th year of Chunxi in the Southern Song Dynasty (1183).

Among the 255 pieces/sets on display, there are four-series jars with Nanhai kiln sauce glaze sealing "Ten Years of Chunxi" from "Nanhai No. A celadon-glazed plate with lotus pattern and folded waist, gold single-top chain necklace with rhinoceros horn-shaped cone decoration, hollow gold bracelet inlaid with gemstones, etc. Exhibits from Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao include a fragment of a Song Dynasty Hutian kiln blue-and-white glaze bowl with ink calligraphy "Minister" unearthed from the Nanyue Palace Department site in Guangzhou, a six-series jar with green and yellow glaze dragon patterns from the Song Dynasty unearthed from the Holy Mountain site in Hong Kong, and Macao A blue-and-white elephant head military holding piece from the Jingdezhen kiln of the Ming Dynasty unearthed from the site of St. Paul's College.

About the Museum

The Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Center is located in Kowloon Park. It was formerly known as Blocks S61 and S62 of the Whitfield Barracks. The two barracks are believed to have been built in the late 1890s. In 1967, the military camp was gradually handed over to the government for cultural and recreational purposes, and in 1970 it was developed into Kowloon Park. From 1983 to 1998, the two buildings were used as the temporary premises of the Hong Kong Museum of History. In 2003, the building was handed over to the Antiquities and Monuments Office for restoration, and in 2005 it became the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Center, which is used for cultural heritage promotion and educational activities.

The Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Center has been open to the public since October 2005. Its main facilities include permanent exhibition halls, thematic exhibition halls, lecture halls, educational activity rooms and reference libraries. If you want to learn more about the history, architectural features and restoration process of the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Center, you can read the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Center brochure or join the guided tour of the "Revitalized Former Whitfield Road Barracks"