HONG Kong is a city that has a firm grip of its traditions, but at the same time, one of the most modern and cosmopolitan cities in the world.
Immediately right to our hotel is a gorgeous complex 1881 Heritage that brings us to Victorian era Hong Kong. Home to the Marine Police, the beautiful edifice to the north was once the Marine Police Headquarters. Built in the early 1880s, an area holds the cells of pirates and smugglers. In the courtyard, one can see coops in the walls, where pigeons were kept to send messages to the ships in the harbor.
Located in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong, the new compound was home to the Old Kowloon Fire Station and the Stable Block. Found likewise within the perimeter is the Signal Tower, commonly called the Round House or the Time Ball Tower.
Hongkong has always been a melting pot. From 1885 to 1907, the tower provided efficient service to the ships in the Victoria Harbor. The ball mounted on this tower was raised manually every morning and at exactly 1 p.m. everyday, the ball drops in full view of all the vessels in the harbor. This allows the ships to recalibrate their chronometers to the accuracy of one tenth of a second. All ships do this before their voyages to other parts of the globe.
1881 Heritage is one of the four oldest surviving government buildings in Hong Kong. The compound is a declared monument since 1994. It was the first attempt by the Hong Kong Tourism Commission to engage the private sector to preserve antiquities by revamping them into a tourist attraction. The project opened as 1881 Heritage in 2009.
Today, 1881 Heritage contains buildings where artefacts of historical interest have been restored and preserved. There is a heritage hotel, high-end retail outlets and restaurants where pirates were once incarcerated.
In lower grounds where exhibitions are held, we were fortunate to catch the world’s first Giant Panda public art tour. The Heart Panda was conceptualized in Chengdu, Sichuan, the hometown of giant pandas, and aims to explore the creativity of Chinese youth. The event aims to promote public art and raise money for charity with the theme “Let’s Love."
More than 60 giant panda art pieces, sculpted in different poses and individually painted, were displayed at 1881 Heritage for a week. Iñigo particularly liked the Iron Man Panda.
The painted pandas were created by students and artists from across China as well as local celebs and will be auctioned off at the end of the exhibition to raise funds for Sheen Hok Charitable Foundation, which helps children suffering with amblyopia and cleft lip in China.
Perhaps the Philippines can go into this type of project as well with the carabao, our beast of burden, for particular causes.
A visit to 1881 Heritage gave us a glimpse of Hong Kong at a time when radios did not exist, when naval equipment were unheard of. Tradition and Innovation welded so well together.