ENG-2008 — Page 460

384 | Recreation, Sport and the Arts

encourage art education among the many diverse groups that comprise the greater part of the community. These activities included the 'Summer Art Cadets' training programme and exhibition for the under-privileged, 'Hong Kong Art: Open Dialogue' open forums, International Museum Day 2008, School Cultural Day Scheme and a wide range of in-house programmes. To acquaint the public with the museum's collections, a set of 'Mini Travelling Exhibitions Collection Highlights of the Hong Kong Museum of Art' was produced for loan to schools and non-profit organisations.

Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware

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The Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware collection features tea ware and related vessels from the collection of the late Dr K S Lo as well as rare Chinese ceramics and seals donated by the K S Lo Foundation. Exhibitions held in 2008 included '2007 Tea Ware by Hong Kong Potters' which featured outstanding works by 69 local potters selected from a tea ware competition, the exhibits of which demonstrated the imaginative and creative talents of local potters, and 'The History of Tea: The K S Lo Collection of the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware' featured over 110 artefacts of refined tea ware from the Tang dynasty to the 20th century. About 167 000 people visited the museum during the year.

Hong Kong Museum of History

In addition to the permanent exhibition, entitled 'The Hong Kong Story', the Hong Kong Museum of History held a number of thematic exhibitions during the year, some of which were organised in collaboration with the Mainland as well as overseas museums and cultural institutions. The exhibitions included 'The Development of Banks in Shanghai and Hong Kong', 'Cultural Relics of Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture', 'The French Revolutions' and 'Heavenly Horse The Horse in Chinese Arts and Culture' to celebrate Hong Kong as a co-host city of the Equestrian Events of the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games. These joint presentations facilitated academic and cultural interflow among Hong Kong, the Mainland and other countries. The museum also continued to collaborate with government departments and non-profit-making institutions to present exhibitions which included 'SUPERTRADER Hong Kong: 40 Years of Trade', 'From New Year Prints to Propaganda Posters: Selections from the China Archives of Publications', 'Hong Kong Observatory Weathering the Storms for 125 Years', 'Women of Hong Kong A Century of Contribution and Development' and '80 Years of Broadcasting in Hong Kong'. More than 634 000 people visited the museum during the year.

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The Hong Kong Museum of History also manages five branch museums

the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence, Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum, Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery, Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum and Law Uk Folk Museum.

The Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence was converted from the old Lei Yue Mun Fort in Shau Kei Wan. In addition to its permanent exhibition, '600 Years of Hong Kong's Coastal Defence', the museum staged three thematic shows during the year: 'Archery Traditions of Asia', 'Cultural Relics of the Eight Banners of the