Revamped ‘Hong Kong Story’ exhibition spotlights city’s roots in Chinese culture

A permanent exhibition showcasing Hong Kong’s history reopened on Wednesday after a major revamp that emphasised the city’s roots in Chinese culture, with visitors expressing mixed reactions to the changes.The “Hong Kong Story” exhibition – which opened in 2001 and closed for renovation in late 2020 – has been reduced from two storeys to a single floor, but expanded from eight to 10 galleries.The revamped exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of History in Tsim Sha Tsui features more than 2,800 exhibits such as artefacts and historic photos as well as interactive multimedia installations.In the preface, the exhibition states that the “shifting tides across China’s vast territory” have “inevitably affected” Hong Kong.It adds that, “though seemingly insignificant in scale, Hong Kong’s unique historical circumstances and developmental path have made its people indispensable participants, witnesses and beneficiaries of the sweeping transformation of modern China”.The first of four core themes, “Roots of Culture”, presents an expanded timeline that traces Hong Kong’s prehistoric trajectory, highlighting its integration as a part of Chinese territory as early as the Qin dynasty in 214BC.