This year marks the centenary of the Xinhai Revolution, an event that led to the birth of modern China. The revolution, named after the sexagenary cycle of the Chinese calendar, brought to an end thousands of years of imperial rule and led to the establishment of the Chinese republic.
To look back on a century of change, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and Hubei Provincial Museum jointly present 'Centenary of China's 1911 Revolution' at the Hong Kong Museum of History from now until May 16.
The exhibition features more than 150 items, and historical images, videos and maps chronicling the events that culminated in the revolution and the profound effects it had on the country.
In the final decade of the Qing dynasty, Chinese politics was divided into two camps: on one side were the revolutionaries who sought drastic change 'from the bottom up', and on the other were the reformists, who believed change could be introduced 'from the top down'.
After the conflict with the Eight-Nation Alliance that brought an end to the Boxer Movement in 1900, the Qing leaders, headed by the Empress Dowager Cixi, embarked on political, economic, military and educational reforms.
In May 1911, the Qing court announced two policies that supposedly incorporated reforms. The first was the formation of a new cabinet that included members of the imperial family and the second was the nationalisation of the railways, which caused immense public resentment. The policies only intensified the animosity that already existed between the Han people and the Manchu rulers, and drove many to the revolutionary camp.
