The Hong Kong Collections forms part of the University of Bristol’s Special Collections strengths and is located in the University’s Library.
Developed as part of the work of the Centre and with a dedicated team of archivists and digital expertise, this unique collection of records of individuals, families and organisations focuses on the history of Hong Kong. It contains a wide range of materials that reflect the city’s development and the intimate and public experiences of its peoples, at home and overseas. Hong Kong’s history has been deeply intertwined with Britain’s, and with wider regional and global changes, and these collections document different aspects of those stories.
Historic photographs are a collection highlight offering a rich visual history of Hong Kong, featuring images that span from the second half of the nineteenth century to the 1980s. These capture both the urban landscapes of central districts and the lives of residents and visitors there, and its rural worlds. They chronicle Hong Kong’s transformation over time, providing an invaluable visual record of the city’s social and architectural evolution. We are developing a Historical Photographs of Hong Kong platform, which will be open access, and where you will be able to view these collections of photographs, in the meantime please contact the Hong Kong Collections team (details below) for enquiries related to the photographic collections. You can view a selection from the Nigel Spry Collection at the bottom of this page.
The collection also consists of a wide range of materials such as correspondence, deeds, maps, and artworks. Notable highlights include the Elizabeth Ride Collection, which documents the life of Sir Lindsay Ride (former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hong Kong and founder of the British Army Aid Group during the Second World War), and the Yeung Kit Po (楊潔波, 1918-1998) Collection, documenting Yeung’s life between mainland China and Hong Kong spanning much of the twentieth century. You can search the archive for these type of materials using the catalogue search facility.
For enquiries and further information on the above material please email the team: hkhc-collections@bristol.ac.uk
We have an active call for donations of material, please view this link for more details.
