Past Exhibitions
Pirates of the South China Sea: Chasing Cheung Po Tsai and the Port Cities
28 April to 8 October 2017
This exhibition will explore the development of ports and early trade routes in the South China Sea during the 16th to 20th centuries. It will provide a fresh angle on maritime history with its narrative through the eyes of pirates, with a focus on Hong Kong, then Pearl Delta River and Southern China. By exploring the locations of pirate bases such as those of Cheung Po Tsai, the exhibition will begin by tracing the development of China’s ports and trading routes from the Ming to the Qing dynasties.
The exhibition will also shed light on the evolution of shipbuilding technologies within the context of sea piracy in the South China Sea during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It will show how shipbuilding technologies and piracy were inter-influential; shipbuilding technologies were improved in order to enhance maritime safety while at the same time, the tactics of pirate attacks were influenced to counter these technological innovations.
