The British built Lei Yue Mun Fort, now the Museum of Coastal Defence, in the 1880s to guard the eastern approach to Victoria Harbour against possible attack from France and Russia. It was never used, however, until the Japanese attacked Hong Kong in 1941. After the war, it served as a training ground for British forces until 1987. Today it’s dedicated to the territory’s 600 years defending its coast from attack.

One of Hong Kong’s best-preserved British coastal fortresses from the Victorian era, the fort contains 18 casements, originally used as barracks, magazines, shell and cartridge shells and other purposes. Its museum begins with the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, when the Chinese mobilized to thwart Japanese pirates and Western invaders. Exhibits then chronicle the first Opium War, the role of the British Navy in Hong Kong, the 1941 Battle for Hong Kong, conditions in Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation, and the history of the People Liberation’s Army in Hong Kong since the handover.