The Museum of Coastal Defence at Shau Kei Wan has recently reopened after being closed for repair and renovations for the past four years. The museum is located within the old Lei Yue Mon Fort and is open from 10am to 6pm daily (summer months) and 10am to 5pm daily (winter months). Entry is free to public.

Historically, the Lai Yue Mun fort was built in 1887 to protect the narrow Lei Yue Mun channel and east entry into Victoria Harbour. It was the scene of intense battle during the Japanese invasion in Dec 1941. After the war, it was a training ground for British forces until 1987. In 1993, it was allocated for the site of the future Museum of Coastal Defence, which originally opened to the public in 2000.

The museum of coastal defence is accessed by main lobby lift to the 8/F of the old fort Redoubt which is so perfectly suited for hosting this particular museum. These days the Redoubt serves as an indoor and sheltered exhibition gallery with 11 rooms featuring different interesting themed topics including the building of the fort, coastal defence during the earlier Chinese periods, the British Colonial Period and after Hong Kong's return to China. There are several exhibitions related to the Japanese invasion, local resistance fighters as well as general topics such as that of volunteer forces to have served in Hong Kong.

The exhibition galleries have been given an impressive make-over with the recent reopening of the museum. All displays are new, modern and clean. There remains a lot of text with the various traditional museum wall and counter displays. However, they have added updated films in some exhibition rooms as well as interactive screens and some multimedia additions to help liven up the experience. The various rooms are jammed packed with things to see and learn about. Allow 10-15 minutes per gallery if you want to visit leisurely.

There is a cafe setup with panoramic views at the top level of the redoubt. This is a good place to take a break from viewing various exhibition rooms. Given the vantage point of the cafe, you will be able to view across the Lai Yue Mun Strait and enjoy views of the eastern end of Victoria Harbour as well.

Outside of the Redoubt, visitors can enjoy nice walkways with views as well as 24 war relics, memorials and the likes situated amongst the old fort grounds and along the Historical Trail. You'll see military vehicles, anti-aircraft field guns and other armaments, batteries, fort caponiers, drawbridges, search lights and torpedo installations. Allow around 45-60 minutes to enjoy these sights on the Historical Trail at a leisurely pace.

Note: There is a downloadable museum guide map available on the museum website that provides a detailed layout of the old fort grounds, the Redoubt exhibition programme as well as the various war relics that you can see along the Historic Trail. This is the same brochure you can pick up in the main lobby (1/F) of the fort when visiting the museum.

Note: To visit the museum, the most convenient route is to take the MTR to the Shau Kei Wan Station and walk around 10 minutes to the museum. Alternatively, you can take the Ding Ding Tram to/from the Shau Kai Wan depot with a similar approximately 10 minute walk.