Predicting the future by understanding the past

I'm glad that I finally made it out to HK's history museum out in East Tsim Sha Tsui. There are a number of well designed exhibits, and for only 10HKD, probably one of the best deals in terms of exploring the city. I guess it's the summer time, so the museum was actually pretty busy on Saturday with families and kids.

 I'm not sure who the quote is from, but it's been said that " You don't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been." I think it's a very true statement, especially for a city like HK which had a complicated history with the British colonial rule and Japanese occupation.

My favourite part of the museum was walking through the displays of HK's ethnic groups: Punti, Hakka, Boat Dwellers, and Haklo. I liked being able to walk onto a lifesize replica the boat of typical Boat Dwellers and walking around the homes of the Punti, Hakka. I was surprised to learn that Haklo people worked to mine salt while the Hakka grew rice. It was neat to see all the tools and equipment they used.

The original Boat Dweller's home (Photo: CharK)

The inside of a Boat Dweller's home (Photo: CharK)

My favourite dwelling was the Hakka's stone house. Walking through the Hakka's stone house made me realize that their traditional homes had lower ceilings and narrower rooms than the Punti houses. The curators put a lot of effort to recreate the Hakka home, with lots of nice every day details of the kitchen, dining room, and bedroom.

The traditional Hakka home (Photo: CharK)

The inside of the Hakka home (Photo: CharK)

I thought the type of bedding for the Hakka and Chinese Elite during the British Colonization of HK were very similar. Coincidence?

The bedroom of the Chinese Elite during the British Colonial Rule (Photo: CharK)

Even though most of the museum featured only replicas of personal belongings, the recreation of homes and storefronts made it a very interactive experience. Although I didn't grow up in HK, I've heard a lot of the environment that I almost feel like I recognize it when I see these recreations. I've always enjoyed learning about history (which I always felt like storytelling), so this museum was an even more fun way to learn about HK's past. I liked seeing the contrast of how people lived during in the various eras of HK. Nearly 4 hours later I came away from the museum with a better understanding of HK's environment and its people.