The Cenotaph (Hong Kong)

2022-11-04T02:43:03Z

183.179.74.249:

{{Use Hong Kong English|date=January 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = The Cenotaph
| native_name = 和平紀念碑
| native_language = Chinese
| image = The Cenotaph 2014.jpg
| caption = The Cenotaph in February 2014
| location = [[Statue Square]]
| coordinates =
| built = {{Start date and age|1923}}
| demolished =
| architect =
| architecture =
| governing_body =
| owner =
| designation1 = HK Declared Monument
| designation1_offname =
| designation1_date = {{Start date and age|df=yes|2013|11|22}}
| designation1_number = 102
}}
{{Infobox Chinese|title=The Cenotaph|showflag=stp|first=t|l=Peace Memorial|t=和平紀念碑|s=和平纪念碑|j=Wo4 ping4 gei2 nim6 bei1|y=Wòhpìhng gèinihmbēi|ci={{IPA-yue|wɔ̏ːpʰȉːŋ kêinìmpéi|}}|p=Hépíng Jìniànbēi}}
'''The Cenotaph''' is a [[war memorial]] constructed in 1923 and located between [[Statue Square]] and the [[Hong Kong City Hall|City Hall]] in [[Central, Hong Kong|Central]], [[Hong Kong]],<ref name="grade I">[http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/Museum/Monument/form/Brief_Information_on_proposed_Grade_I_Items.pdf Brief Information on Proposed Grade I Items, pp. 53–54] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013023413/http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/Museum/Monument/form/Brief_Information_on_proposed_Grade_I_Items.pdf |date=2012-10-13 }}</ref> that commemorates the dead in the two world wars<ref name="LCSD">{{cite web|url=http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Monument/en/trails_central1.php?tid=a3|title=Cenotaph|publisher=[[Leisure and Cultural Services Department]]|accessdate=2009-06-15}}</ref> who served in Hong Kong in the [[Royal Navy]], [[British Army]] and [[Royal Air Force]]. Built in stone, it is an almost exact replica of [[The Cenotaph, Whitehall|the Cenotaph]] on [[Whitehall]] in [[London]], [[United Kingdom|UK]] (designed by Sir [[Edwin Lutyens]] and unveiled in 1920).<ref name="grade I" /> It is [[Declared monuments of Hong Kong|listed as a monument]] under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance.
{{TOC limit|2}}

==History==
[[File:1945 liberation of Hong Kong at Cenotaph.jpg|thumb|1945 liberation of Hong Kong at the Cenotaph. [[Queen's Pier]] is visible in the background.]]
The Cenotaph was unveiled on 24 May 1923 ([[Empire Day]]) by the then Governor Sir [[Reginald Edward Stubbs]].<ref>[http://gwulo.com/node/9362 "1923 Unveiling the Cenotaph"], Gwulo: Old Hong Kong website</ref> At that time, the location was [[Land reclamation in Hong Kong|still on the waterfront]]. Initially built to commemorate the dead of the [[World War I|First World War]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Then & now: Lest we forget |url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1578433/then-now-lest-we-forget |accessdate=20 November 2018 |publisher=[[South China Morning Post]]}}</ref> inscribed with the words "The Glorious Dead", the dates 1939–1945 were added later to honour victims of the [[World War II|Second World War]], and the Chinese characters 英魂不朽浩氣長存 ("May their martyred souls be immortal, and their noble spirits endure") were added in the 1970s to commemorate those who lost their lives during the [[Battle of Hong Kong|Japanese invasion]].<ref name="grade I" />

On 22 November 2013, The Cenotaph was gazetted as [[Declared monuments of Hong Kong|a monument]] under the [[Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance]].<ref>[http://www.news.gov.hk/en/categories/health/html/2013/11/20131122_121024.shtml Memorial, sanatorium declared monuments], news.gov.hk. 22 November 2013</ref>

==Commemorations==
===Liberation Day===
{{main|Liberation Day (Hong Kong)}}
During [[History of Colonial Hong Kong (1800s–1930s)|British rule]], after 1945, [[Liberation Day (Hong Kong)|Liberation Day]] commemoration took place here on the last Monday in August to commemorate the Liberation of Hong Kong from [[Japanese occupation of Hong Kong|Japanese occupation]] in 1945. No official ceremonies have taken place here since 1997. Unofficial delegations do mark events here, and the flag poles are occasionally dressed.

Hong Kong's invasion was part of the Pacific Campaign of World War II, which was a separate development from the events happening on the Chinese mainland. Hong Kong was defended by the Hong Kong's Garrison formed by soldiers drawn from Commonwealth nations (See [[Battle of Hong Kong]]).

===[[Remembrance_Day#Hong_Kong|Remembrance Day]]===
[[File:Remembrance Day in Hong Kong 1.JPG|thumb|right|The [[Hong Kong Police Force Pipe Band|Hong Kong Police Band]] at the memorial service by the Cenotaph on [[Remembrance Sunday]] in November 2009]]
[[File:Remembrance Day in Hong Kong 2.JPG|thumb|Ex-servicemen and Government representatives laying wreaths in front of the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday in November 2009]]
[[File:HKP Band on Remembrance Day.JPG|thumb|The [[Hong Kong Police Band]] marching towards the Cenotaph for the Remembrance Sunday service in November 2009.]]
The [[Remembrance Sunday]] observance in Hong Kong is marked by a multi-faith memorial service at the Cenotaph. The service is organised by the Royal British Legion (HK & China Branch) and the Hong Kong Ex-Servicemen's Association and is attended by various Government officials, as well as representatives of various religions including the [[Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui|Anglican Church]], the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong|Roman Catholic Church]], the [[Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia|Eastern Orthodox Church]], the [[Buddhism in Hong Kong|Buddhist community]], the Taoist community, the Muslim community and the Sikh community. Although Hong Kong ceased to be part of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] in 1997, the memorial service still resembles those in many other Commonwealth countries. The service includes the sounding of "[[Last Post]]," two minutes of silence, the sounding of "[[The Rouse|Reveille]]", the laying of wreaths, prayers, and ends with a recitation of the "[[Ode of Remembrance]]". The [[Hong Kong Police Force Pipe Band]] continues to perform their ceremonial duty at the service.

===ANZAC Day===
There are commemorative events in front of the Cenotaph every year on [[Anzac Day]]. The events are held at dawn and are attended by the Consuls-General (or the High Commissioners before 1997) of Australia and New Zealand.<ref>http://www.hongkong.china.embassy.gov.au/hkng/HOME_ANZAC.html ANZAC Day – Australian Consulate-General, Hong Kong. Retrieved 25 April 2010.</ref>

==Flags==
Prior to 1997, flags were flown on the Cenotaph daily, in exactly the same order as on its [[The Cenotaph, Whitehall#Flags|Whitehall counterpart]]. Since 1997 no flags are flown except during ceremonies: on Remembrance Day the flags of [[Flag of Hong Kong|Hong Kong]], the [[Flag of China|People's Republic of China]] and Hong Kong Ex-Servicemen's Association are present.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

==See also==
* [[Central and Western Heritage Trail]]
* [[World War I memorials]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Cenotaph, Hong Kong}}

{{Public art in Hong Kong}}

{{Coord|22|16|53.57|N|114|09|38.24|E|region:HK_type:landmark|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cenotaph}}
[[Category:British Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Cenotaphs in China]]
[[Category:Central, Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Declared monuments of Hong Kong]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Hong Kong]]
[[Category:War memorials by Edwin Lutyens]]
[[Category:World War I memorials in China]]
[[Category:World War II memorials in China]]
[[Category:Battle of Hong Kong]]

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The Cenotaph (Hong Kong)