Explore Hong Kong’s historic sites linked to Sun Yat-sen, from Kom Tong Hall and his former schools to landmarks of the revolutionary movement.
A century-old mansion in the Mid-Levels district of Central, Hong Kong, draws the attention of passers-by. Built in 1914, the house once belonged to Hong Kong businessman Ho Kom-tong. Its Edwardian-style exterior and lavish interior reflect the tastes of a wealthy family of the time.
Today, the building, known as Kom Tong Hall, houses the Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum. It offers a starting point for exploring Sun’s connections with Hong Kong, where he studied, received medical training and helped organise revolutionary activities.
This year marks the 160th anniversary of Sun’s birth. Historic buildings and sites across Hong Kong preserve different chapters of his life and the city’s role in China’s modern history.
Dr Joseph Ting Sun-pao, former chief curator of the Hong Kong Museum of History, led the project to establish the Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum. She recalled that, after Hong Kong’s return to China, there were calls for a dedicated place in the city to commemorate Sun.
The project, however, faced two major challenges: finding a suitable building and collecting historical artefacts.
Ting believed the museum should be located in Central, where Sun had spent much of his time in Hong Kong. She also preferred adapting an existing building rather than constructing a new one. This would save time and money while preserving the city’s architectural heritage.
Kom Tong Hall soon emerged as a suitable choice. Its location was ideal, and the building was well preserved. Its original owner, Ho Kom-tong, was born in the same year as Sun. The two men had also attended the same school, the Central School, now known as Queen’s College.
The mansion itself had once faced the threat of demolition. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had managed the property since the 1960s. When the church later built new premises, plans to demolish the old mansion prompted concern among local residents. The Hong Kong SAR Government eventually acquired the property and preserved it.
Ting recalled that she immediately saw its potential as a museum. Ho’s descendants, some of whom she knew from school, were also pleased with the decision.
Finding artefacts for the new museum proved more difficult. Many well-known items related to Sun were already held by established institutions. At the time, the team had only a few objects, including an English letter Sun had written to his nephew.
Ting therefore travelled to the UK to look for materials connected with Sun’s years as a medical student in Hong Kong. She contacted the Wellcome Trust, which held the personal belongings of James Cantlie, one of Sun’s teachers at the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese.
Cantlie later played a key role in securing Sun’s release after his detention in London in 1896.
Ting remembered being told by staff that she could not take any objects away and could only examine them in a designated room. There, she saw Sun’s examination papers for the first time.
She described the documents as extremely valuable and said the experience moved her. The Wellcome Trust later lent the original papers to the museum for its opening exhibition.
The team also borrowed artefacts from the National Museum of China and Sun Yat-sen University. The Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum opened in December 2006.
Following Sun’s Footsteps in Hong Kong
From Kom Tong Hall, visitors can follow the Dr Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail to explore other places associated with his life in Hong Kong. The trail covers 16 sites linked to his education, daily life and revolutionary activities.
Sun was born in 1866 in Cuiheng Village, Xiangshan County, Guangdong Province, now Zhongshan. At the age of 17, he returned from Hawaii to his hometown. After damaging a statue of a local deity, he angered local gentry and was forced to leave. He then went to Hong Kong to continue his studies.
Between 1884 and 1886, Sun attended the Central School. Unlike traditional private schools, which focused largely on the Confucian classics, the school taught subjects such as mathematics, chemistry and geography.
Hong Kong’s libraries, museums and newspapers also exposed him to new ideas. Among the publications he followed was The Universal Circulating Herald, a Chinese-language newspaper founded by Wang Tao.
The site at 2 Bridges Street, now home to the Hong Kong News-Expo, was where Sun once lived during his student years. In the late 19th century, the Central district had many newspaper offices. The area was an important centre for the exchange of news and ideas.
Professor LAU Chi-pang, editor-in-chief of the Hong Kong Chronicles Institute, said Hong Kong was a place where Chinese and Western cultures met. Its newspapers and modern education gave Sun opportunities to learn about new ideas.
In 1887, Sun enrolled at the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, the predecessor of the University of Hong Kong’s medical faculty. After five years of study, he graduated in 1892 as one of the first two students to obtain a professional medical qualification from the college.
Several teachers influenced his development during this period. They included James Cantlie and Patrick Manson, who later became known as the father of tropical medicine. His Chinese teacher, Au Fung-chi, gave him the courtesy name Yat-sen and helped him improve his Chinese.
Hong Kong and the Revolutionary Movement
Sun’s connections with Hong Kong continued beyond his student years. In 1895, he and fellow revolutionaries used the premises of a business at 13 Staunton Street as a cover to establish the Hong Kong chapter of the Revive China Society.
The city subsequently became an important base for revolutionary activities. It served as a place for contacts, fundraising and organisation.
After the Tongmenghui, or Chinese Revolutionary Alliance, was founded in Tokyo in 1905, revolutionaries also established a local branch and a reception centre in Hong Kong. Many local residents supported the movement through donations and other forms of assistance.
A square, grey-brick fortress in Ha Pak Nai, Yuen Long, provides another reminder of this period.
Ting said revolutionary figure Tang Yam-nam built the fortress in 1910, following the failure of the Guangzhou New Army Uprising. It served as an operational base and offered a vantage point for observing areas under Qing government control.
The fortress reflects Hong Kong’s role in the revolutionary movement in the final years of the Qing Dynasty. It was listed as a declared monument in 2011.
The University of Hong Kong also holds an important place in Sun’s story.
On February 20, 1923, Sun was invited to deliver a speech at the university’s Loke Yew Hall. In his opening remarks, he described Hong Kong as a place where he felt at home and said that the city and the university were where his knowledge had taken shape.
Today, Loke Yew Hall remains an important historic building on the university campus. It is also the first stop on the Dr Sun Yat-sen Historical Trail.
Additional reporting by Menglan Dai.
If you liked this article, why not read: Hong Kong’s Haw Par Mansion Returns as a New Cultural Landmark
