Shenzhen Zhongying Street History Museum

Shenzhen Zhongying Street History Museum

The Shenzhen Zhongying Street History Museum serves as a patriotic education base.

The Zhongying Street History Museum, originally known as the Zhongying Street History Memorial Hall, is located at No. 9 Neihuan Road, Shatoujiao Town, Yantian District, Shenzhen. It was officially opened to the public on May 1, 1999. The exhibition building has a total floor area of 1,688 square meters and provides a comprehensive record and reflection of the century-long history of Zhongying Street.

In 1898, due to the incompetence of the Qing government and military pressure from Britain, China and Britain signed the Convention Between Great Britain and China Respecting an Extension of Hong Kong Territory. Under this agreement, Britain forcibly leased 977.4 square kilometers of land and vast surrounding waters belonging to Xin’an County for a period of 99 years. On March 18, 1899, boundary survey representatives from both countries completed the demarcation of the "New Territories," and Zhongying Street came into existence under this historical backdrop.

Zhongying Street is located in Shatoujiao, which was originally part of Xin’an County. Nestled against Wutong Mountain and facing Dapeng Bay to the south, it is a historic, fertile, and vibrant land that blends ancient civilization with modern culture, offering ideal natural and cultural conditions for the development of tourism and culture. Originally a muddy creek known as Cuckoo Path, Zhongying Street gradually evolved into a bustling border trade street renowned as a “shopping paradise” due to economic development. Though no longer than 250 meters and no wider than 3–4 meters, its historical changes reflect a microcosm of modern Chinese history. The boundary markers erected along Zhongying Street stand not only as testimonies to China’s past poverty and backwardness, the decay of the Qing Dynasty, and the rampant aggression of British imperialism, but also as symbols of China’s reform and opening-up, the handover of Hong Kong, and the nation’s journey toward prosperity. The unique historical background and human landscape of “One Street, Two Systems” found on Zhongying Street are not only unparalleled in China but also rare in the world.

The Zhongying Street History Museum offers a comprehensive record and reflection of the century-long history of Zhongying Street. The exhibition building, with a total floor area of 1,688 square meters, is divided into five levels: The first floor is the welcome hall, which features an ocean-view terrace where visitors can rest and enjoy the scenic beauty of Dapeng Bay, where the mountains meet the sea.

The second and third floors house the “Zhongying Street History” exhibition hall. The permanent exhibition is divided into six sections: Fertile Land, Occupation, Resistance, Transformation, Development, and Reunification. The third floor also includes a theater that screens various historical documentaries.

The fourth floor is a temporary exhibition space; currently, it features “Sun Yat-sen and the Sanzhoutian Uprising,” which showcases the second anti-Qing armed uprising personally planned and led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen over a hundred years ago during the democratic revolution period.

The fifth floor is used for museum offices, including well-equipped offices for the director and staff, a small meeting room, a reception room, and an art design studio.

The top floor is an observation deck, offering panoramic views of the natural scenery of Dapeng Bay and Hong Kong’s New Territories. The museum currently houses a collection of over 400 modern historical artifacts, folk relics, and more than a thousand precious historical photographs, among which the modern historical relics are the most distinctive.

Further Reading:

· National Third-Class Museum of China