#shingmun

Shing Mun Reservoir 

We were more excited to go to the Shing Mun Redoubt than any other place on our agenda. It has a boring name, admittedly. What is a redoubt anyway? A redoubt is a temporary or supplementary fortification. It was a British outpost during the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong in World War II, back in December 1941. This particular fort was part of the Gin Drinkers Line, so called because it bordered a body of water known as Gin Drinkers Bay. The Shing Mun Redoubt housed the line’s headquarters and was outfitted with an observation post and machine guns. The redoubt actually fell to the Japanese quite quickly during the Battle of Hong Kong, as few soldiers defended it.

We were excited to visit Shing Mun because of its extensive underground tunnel network. Only small sections of the redoubt are visible from above ground, such as the raised skylights and the tunnel entrances. We were also excited to see the views from atop the mountain, since the redoubt’s location was chosen largely for its strategic vantage point.

It wasn’t easy to reach the tunnels. We had to go to the last stop on the red line, Tsuen Wan, and then search for the number 82 minibus. After that, we hiked along the MacLehose Trail until we almost walked past the entrance. It took a while, but using public transportation meant the whole trek cost less than 10HKD more than a taxi from Stephen’s house to HKIS. Anyway, we were awestruck by the tunnels. They were very spacious, despite their tiny entrances, and have held up marvelously since the war. We guess the tunnels were about 6’5” tall. Natural skylights were the only reason we could see in front of us. We saw the former headquarters (reduced to only the foundation) and walked through tunnels like we were British army scouts. We might’ve gotten lost, except the tunnels were marked with street names. They weren’t random street names, though. In fact, the Shing Mun Redoubt tunnels were named according to West London streets (see map in below post and street names in pictures). This was done to allow British soldiers to easily navigate the tunnel network.