Sheung Wan is a district where Hong Kong’s colonial and medical past still speak through its streets. On this guided walk, we’ll explore landmarks that reveal how governance, public health, and community life intertwined in the city’s formative years that shaped the modern Hong Kong.
Beginning at Possession Street — the symbolic starting point of British rule — we explore how colonial authorities and Chinese elites negotiated power, welfare, and responsibility. Along narrow lanes and quiet gardens, you’ll uncover stories of plague outbreaks, burial rituals, charity networks, and the rise of Chinese- led institutions that challenged and complemented colonial systems.
From ancestral halls repurposed for community use to pioneering hospitals and medical museums, this tour shows how medicine became a battleground for trust, identity, and survival. Through these spaces, Sheung Wan emerges not just as a historic neighbourhood, but as a living archive of how Hong Kong learned to care for its people.
Docent
Mr. Thomas Wong is a banking veteran with over 40 years of experience, having held senior roles across Hong Kong and other Asia countries. Upon his retirement, he dedicated his passion in HK history and culture to work as a docent and cultural guide. Thomas holds the HKU SPACE Tour Guide Training Certificate and is a licensed tour guide with the Travel Industry Authority (TIA). He has been a volunteer with the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s HKPALs programme and an environmental guide for The Conservancy Association for more than ten years. In recent years, he has also been actively involved as docent for the Hong Kong Palace Museum and Walk in Hong Kong’s projects.
PROGRAMME
Speaker / Guide: Mr. Thomas Wong, a seasoned docent commissioned by Walk in Hong Kong
Date: Sunday, 20 September 2026
Time: 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Meeting up time and place: Let’s meet up at 1:45 pm at Possession Street, Sheung Wan (under the footbridge) (MTR Sheung Wan Station Exit A2, 9-minute walk) https://goo.gl/maps/EriUWYTkTZ4i1yxZ9
Itinerary:
• Possession Street
• Kwong Fuk Ancestral Hall
• Pound Lane Public Toilet
• Blake Garden
• Tung Wah Hospital
• Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences
Admission: $350 for members, $400 for guests /non-members
Entrance fee for the Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences is NOT included. Participants will buy their tickets on the spot. Adults at HK$20, Full-time students, Senior citizens aged 60 or above enjoy HK$10 per pax.
Registration:Please email <membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk> and provide your membership number, if applicable, at the time of registration. Please kindly complete your registration by advance payment via Stripe's payment links below (using your Credit Card):
Members ($350):
https://buy.stripe.com/cNieVe08Y68g0mv5JT5EY3C
Non-member / Guest ($400):
https://buy.stripe.com/8x2eVe7Bq8goedla095EY3D
Details about the other payment option will be sent on registration. Upon receipt of payment, your registration will be confirmed by email. Registration will be closed at 12 noon on 19 September 2026.
No walk-in guests are allowed.
This tour is operated by Walk In Hong Kong, a licensed cultural enterprise with a strong social mission.
Participants are reminded of tour details as follows:
• What to wear/bring:
Comfortable clothing and shoes for the walk. Bring an umbrella, a bottle of water and some snacks just in case.
• Bad Weather Policy:
The walk will be cancelled if the Red/ Black Rainstorm warning or Typhoon no. 8 signal or above is hoisted 3 hours before the walk. Cancellation will be decided no later than 2.5 hours before the tour. You will be fully refunded in this case.
• Wireless receivers:
It will be used to conduct the tour. Please feel free to bring your own earphones with 3.5mm jack. The guide will provide spare earphones.