Leisure and Cultural Services Department - Antiquties and Monuments Office

Learning zone

A one-day excursion to the Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail

I believe that most of you must have heard of Dr. Sun Yat-sen (1866 - 1925) and the historical events related to him. Actually, he was the leader of the 1911 Revolution which then brought about the fall of the Qing Dynasty. In retrospect, most of Dr. Sun's activities in Hong Kong were based in the Central and Western District, the historical buildings and relics covered in the Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail were the places he had visited before, from which we can see his close relationship with Hong Kong.

Old Site of Diocesan Boy's School
Do you know that Diocesan Boy's School, founded by the Anglican Church of Hong Kong, was the first school where Dr. Sun Yat-sen studied when he was living in Hong Kong? Before coming to Hong Kong, Dr. Sun had received four years of elementary English education in Hawaii. In 1883, he moved from his homeland Xinghuacun to Hong Kong, and continued his study in the Diocesan Boy's School.

Old Site of the Preaching House of American Congregational Mission
Have you ever been to the market at Bridges Street? The place where this market situated used to be occupied by the Preaching House of American Congregational Mission. Dr. Sun Yat-sen was living on the second floor of the church when he was studying at the Central School between 1884 and 1886. In 1883, Dr. Sun was baptized in the church and became a Christian. His second name, "Rixin", was adopted from his baptismal name.

Old Site of the Central School
The kind of schooling that we are having now is a form of modern Western education, it was first provided in Hong Kong by the Central School which was set up in 1862. Dr. Sun Yat-sen attended the upper classes of the School between 1884 and 1886. Other than him, many important figures in the history of modern China, including Wen Zhongyao and Chen Jintao, also studied here. Both of them served as cabinet members when Dr. Sun became the Provisional President of the Republic of China in 1912.

Old Site of the Queen's College
Queen's College, having a history of more than one hundred years, was formerly known as the Central School, which was renamed Queen's College in 1894 and commonly known as the "Big College". Dr. Sun Yat-sen had left the Central School earlier, but he was present at the foundation-stone-laying ceremony for the new school in 1884. Unfortunately, the school was destroyed by the Japanese in 1941. After the War, the College was relocated to the current site at Causeway Road, Causeway Bay in 1950, and the former site was rebuilt into quarters for married police officers.

Old Site of the Alice Memorial Hospital and Hong Kong College of Medicine
I guess most of you have known that Dr. Sun Yat-sen used to study medicine in Hong Kong, the place where he studied was called the Hong Kong College of Medicine which was founded by Ho Kai. Ho Kai, Dr. Sun's teacher and the unofficial member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council in the early 1900s, married to a British lady called Alice, and they loved each other very much. After the death of his wife, Ho Kai donated a sum of money to build a new hospital at Hollywood Road in memory of her, and named it as the Alice Memorial Hospital. To help provide medical training for local students, Ho Kai then established the Hong Kong College of Medicine. It was a famous medicine school at that time which mainly focused on surgery and used English as the teaching medium.

Old Site of the Headquarters of Xingzhonghui (Revive China Society)
Apart from studying medicine, Dr. Sun Yat-sen also participated actively in anti-Manchu activities, Xingzhonghui was the first revolutionary organization formed by him in 1895. Headquarters of the Society in Hong Kong were set up at Staunton Street under the cover of a commercial firm called Qian Heng Hang, it was the place where Dr. Sun and other members gathered to plan revolutionary activities. The building, in fact, was owned by a founding member of the Society called Huang Yongshang.

Wong Koon To
Former student from St.Joseph's College
(Studying in CAnada now)

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