The Hong Kong Museum of History has reopened its permanent exhibition with a new theme on the city’s shared “roots” with mainland China, nearly six years after it was closed for a revamp. The Hong Kong Museum of History in Tsim Sha Tsui on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The government announced the reopening of “Hong Kong Story” in a statement on Wednesday.
“While telling the local story, the revamped exhibition also places greater emphasis on Hong Kong’s role as a ‘hub’, highlighting its shared roots with the motherland in historical development and its connections with the world as an international metropolis,” it said. Museum of History curator Osmond Chan on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The exhibition at the museum in Tsim Sha Tsui used to be presented in chronological order, covering the city’s pre-historical period up to the handover in 1997.
It now revolves around four major themes, spread across 13 galleries. A statue of Lin Zexu at the Hong Kong Museum of History on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The Hong Kong Museum of History on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The first theme, “Roots of Culture,” features artefacts that demonstrate Hong Kong “has long been rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese civilisation, sharing a cultural lineage with the motherland since ancient times.” The Hong Kong Museum of History on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The “East Meets West” exhibits present Chinese and Western exchanges, “while still grounded in Chinese cultural traditions.” The Hong Kong Museum of History on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Whereas the old exhibition said that Hong Kong Island was “ceded” to the British in 1841 following the Opium War, the revamped display describes the event as a “forcible seizure.”
It features a statue of Lin Zexu, a Qing dynasty official known for his role in the First Opium War from 1839 to 1842. The museum describes him as representing a “critical historical turning point when modern China confronted the incursions of Western powers.” A replica tram at the Hong Kong Museum of History on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The third theme is dedicated to the “Coalition Against Japanese Aggression,” focusing on the role of Hong Kong communists in fighting the Japanese occupation during World War II. World War II exhibits at the Hong Kong Museum of History on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. “Hong Kong as a Global Metropolis” – the fourth theme – includes re-creations of cafes and cinemas as well as “Made in Hong Kong” products symbolising the city’s economic boom. A Hong Kong Museum of History exhibit on the city’s economic boom, on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The final gallery, “Walking with the Motherland,“ showcases “Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, the implementation of ‘one country, two systems’, and a new chapter in its integration into the nation’s overall development.” A Hong Kong Museum of History exhibit on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. In October 2020, hundreds of visitors flocked to the museum on the last day of the old permanent exhibition , with some expressing concerns over potential political censorship. A Hong Kong Museum of History exhibit on the city’s economic boom, on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. While the old exhibition displayed photos of Hongkongers marching in support of student protesters in May 1989, before the Tiananmen Square crackdown, the revamp does not mention the bloody event on June 4, only referring to “political turmoil in the spring and summer of 1989.” Posters of Bruce Lee films at the Hong Kong Museum of History, on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. The reopened exhibition no longer shows portraits of the city’s British colonial governors or a natural history section. A Hong Kong Museum of History exhibit on China’s Covid relief efforts in the city on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. A Hong Kong Museum of History exhibit of the city’s handover on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. As part of the revamp, the museum opened the National Security Exhibition Gallery in August 2024 , occupying 1,100 square metres of space. The gallery “Walking with the Motherland“at the Hong Kong Museum of History on March 31, 2026. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.