Nan'ao County Coastal Defense History Museum

Nan'ao County Coastal Defense History Museum

The Nan'ao County Coastal Defense History Museum serves as a patriotic education base.

The Nan'ao County Coastal Defense History Museum is the only county-level thematic museum dedicated to coastal defense history in Guangdong Province, located on Zhongxing Road, Houzhai Town. It is under the administration of the Nan'ao County Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Press and Publication.

On May 4, 1983, the People's Government of Nan'ao County issued a document to establish the "Nan'ao County Coastal Defense History Museum." The Nan'ao County Museum is a public institution at the division level, under the county's cultural bureau (now the Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Press and Publication). The museum building was first constructed on October 23, 1987, located on the western section of Haibin Road, Houzhai Town. It has a two-story frame structure, with a construction area of 746 square meters and a construction cost of 270,000 yuan. On February 16, 1992, the basic exhibition “Exhibition of Nan'ao Coastal Defense History” was completed and opened to the public. In June 2000, driven by the province-wide upsurge in cultural development in mountainous areas, the construction project for the new buildings of the Nan'ao County Coastal Defense History Museum and the library commenced. The project was completed in December 2002. From August 2004 to July 2005, spanning nearly a year, the museum completed the exhibition setup and relocation for the new premises and officially opened to the public in August 2005.

The new museum building covers a total area of 1,650 square meters, with a total construction area of 3,300 square meters. The second and third floors serve as the main exhibition halls, totaling an area of 512 square meters. The first floor and the fourth floor each house a secondary exhibition hall, with an area of 256 square meters each. The second, third, and fifth floors are storage rooms, covering a total area of 376 square meters. In addition to the main permanent exhibition “Exhibition of Nan'ao Coastal Defense History,” the Nan'ao County Coastal Defense History Museum also hosts special exhibitions such as the display hall for artifacts recovered from the “Nan’ao I” shipwreck and a film screening room. From 2005 to 2013, a total of 13 special exhibitions were held.

After relocating to the new building in 2004, the Nan'ao County Coastal Defense History Museum created the permanent exhibition “Exhibition of Nan'ao Coastal Defense History,” with an exhibit display length of 162.57 meters. It is divided into nine sections: “Activities of Early Islanders,” “Trade in the Song Dynasty and Visits by the Imperial Family to Nan’ao,” “The Situation in Nan’ao Before the Establishment of the Garrison Town,” “The Establishment of the Nan’ao Garrison Command,” “Zheng Chenggong Recruiting Soldiers in Nan’ao,” “The Heyday of Coastal Defense in the Qing Dynasty,” “Outstanding People and Land Protecting Coastal Defenses,” “The Anti-Smoking Struggle of the Military and Civilians,” and “Modern Coastal Defense in Nan’ao.” The exhibition displays 342 pieces including historical materials on military defenses, military artifacts, photographs of military ruins, paintings, and charts. There are three three-dimensional scenic displays, three semi-three-dimensional display boxes, and one statue each of Qi Jiguang and Zheng Chenggong. The exhibition includes 30 display cases, showcasing over 250 pieces of military defense artifacts. There is also a three-dimensional model of Nan’ao’s coastal defense system, panoramic views of naval battles, forts, and the old Nan’ao city wall. This exhibition comprehensively presents the military history of Nan’ao’s coastal defenses and recreates the historical appearance of Nan’ao’s coastal defense.

Address: Zhongxing Road, Houzhai Town, Nan'ao County

Tel: 0754—86803504

Person in charge: Huang Yingtao

Opening hours: 9:00–11:00, 15:00–17:00