Since the ratification of the Venice Charter in 1964, numerous conservation principles have been proposed and approved by international organizations like UNESCO and ICOMOS (Ahmad, 2006). The guidelines and institutions are established with the primary goal of defending against various risks to cultural property, which includes historical monuments, buildings, groupings of buildings, sites and sights, and communities all over the world (Ahmad, 2006). As defined in the Venice Charter (UNESCO, 1964), ‘monuments’ encompass all real estate, whether or not it includes buildings, that has archaeological, architectural, historic, or ethnographic importance. They may also include anything else that has been kept inside of them, such as furniture. Due to the importance of monument preservation for political, sociological, commercial, and educational purposes, it has been recognized as a critical public concern over the decades.

Hong Kong was the final British overseas colony, and it is situated at the southernmost point of the South China Sea. The combination of British colonial power and a Chinese administrative effort over a lengthy 150-year period, from 1841 to 1997, resulted in the development of Hong Kong's distinctive social, political, and economic systems, as well as other characteristics (Xue, 2016). Hong Kong became one of China's major cities after the transfer of sovereignty in 1997, and it has since made significant contributions to the nation. As a consequence, the city's diversity of cultures is a result of its complicated historical context, and this can be witnessed in the monuments that the government has designated throughout the years. 

While previous literature has either investigated colonial monuments and their characteristics or the importance of preserving local cultural heritage, there are few in-depth comparisons and discussions on the differences between monuments declared during the British colonial period and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under Chinese rule. Thus, this project attempts to shed light on the distinctions and related factors between the monuments in Hong Kong that were established before and after Hong Kong's handover. The project uses several digital humanity tools, including Mymap, TimelineJS, and StorymapJS, as well as several cross-referencing studies, to carry out the inquiry.

By clicking on the buttons on the upper right corner of this Google site, you will be able to read the content on different pages, including Introduction, Background, Research Questions, Locations, Timeline, Comparisons and Discussions, Implications, and so forth. You will be able to discover detailed information on the mentioned monuments in various aspects by interacting with the embedded digital humanity projects.