2023 Exhibition of historic maps from the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Archives

The Exhibition of historic maps from the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Archives: Christianity and the Mapping of China on 28th and 29th April at St John’s Cathedral, Li Hall has been successfully completed, thanks to the support of our guests, friends and volunteers. The two-day exhibition attracted over 600 visitors and this was very encouraging.

The opening ceremony of the exhibition was held on the morning of the 28th, and we were honored to have The Most Revd Andrew Chan, Archbishop and Primate of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, as our guest of honor. In his opening address, he said that the exhibition was not only showing old things to visitors but also providing a communication bridge between the present and the cartographers and church pioneers. The exhibition helps us to understand the history of China, Hong Kong and the Church. 

In the welcoming speech of The Revd Prof. Philip L. Wickeri, the Provincial Archivist of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Archives expressed his appreciation to two friends of the Archives for the loan of their precious maps. These were the loans of "Parte occidentale China (Western China)" (1690) and a copy of the "Map of the Myriad countries of the world" (1700) by Dr. Otto Lam, and the loans of "World Double Hemispheres" (1838) and "Map of the Basel Mission, Canton" by Mr. Jonathan Wattis.

The opening ceremony was concluded by a ribbon-cutting ceremony by The Most Revd Andrew Chan who announced the starting of the exhibition. Philip L. Wickeri then introduced the exhibits to the guests. The exhibition had two guided tours conducted by Philip L. Wickeri who explained the features of the exhibits and the historical stories behind them. The guests had a better chance to understand the thoughts of the cartographers.

There were a total of 26 maps and drawings related to the Christianity of China from the late 17th century to the end of the last century, as well as photographs, books, manuscripts and flags for a total of 80 items on exhibits.

Image by HKSKH Echo

Image by HKSKH Echo

Image by HKSKH Echo

Image by HKSKH Echo

Image by HKSKH Echo