150 pillboxes and counting: Hong Kong historians want city's second world war relics conserved
As events marking the 70th anniversary of the war come to an end, historians want to turn our attention to physical reminders of our history
Events this month marking the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war have revived interest in the city's history - but heritage experts say that, while it's right the commemorations focuses on the people involve, it's also time to pay serious attention to places.
While some military sites and facilities sited in urban and rural area have been officially recognised, they say much more needs to be done to conserve hardware that testifies to the city's wartime history but has been largely neglected in the decades since.
The defensive structures were the scene of fierce fighting during the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941, which culminated in a Japanese occupation that ended with surrender seven decades ago this week.
A total of 53 military sites, buildings or structures have been declared monuments or listed as historic buildings, of which 45 are connected to the second world war, according to the government's Antiquities and Monument Office.
But members of the public looking to find out more are likely to be left frustrated and perplexed by lax official record-keeping. While the city's 108 declared monuments are listed and mapped on the website of the Antiquities Advisory Board, details of 1,444 historic structures on the same website are vague. Some 58 such entries are simply referred to as "military facility", followed by the year in which they were built.
Watch: 150 pillboxes and counting: locating Hong Kong's pre-WWII military emplacements
