New HK$85 million museum dedicated to media industry to open in Hong Kong
- News stands, old papers, and everything from hot metal to new media featured at News-Expo
- Veteran journalist says space will serve as an education and tourist hub
Inside the historic Bridges Street Market in the heart of Hong Kong, there is a news stand offering a dozen newspapers printed on March 8, 1969, some magazines and lottery tickets, while change is a handful of British colonial coins contained in a signature red plastic sieve.
The replica is a small piece of the city’s media evolution, a key part of a brand new museum called Hong Kong News-Expo.
More than half of the newspapers on display no longer exist, and the number of news stands in Hong Kong has shrunk to about 100, from 2,000 at their peak.
“The story of Hong Kong news is part of its history,” said Chan Siu-ping, a veteran radio journalist and News-Expo CEO. “It is appropriate to house the News-Expo in Central, especially in the historical building on Bridges Street, as many newspapers began in Central, and it was where the late Dr Sun Yat-sen was baptised.”
Sun, a revolutionary who helped bring about the end of imperial rule in China, was baptised in China Congregation Church at 2 Bridges Street, which was later turned into the Bridges Street Market.