WW2-ANNIVERSARY/CHINA-BUNKER Bunker-turned Hong Kong wine cellar retains WW2 scars

Record ID: 142186

  • Title: WW2-ANNIVERSARY/CHINA-BUNKER Bunker-turned Hong Kong wine cellar retains WW2 scars
  • Date: 28th August 2015
  • Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (RECENT - AUGUST 12, 2015) (REUTERS) FORMER BUNKER TURNED INTO WINE CELLAR BEHIND SIGN SIGN READING (In English) "LITTLE HONG KONG" VARIOUS OF STAFF ENTERING WINE CELLAR HONG KONG, CHINA (RECENT - JULY 14, 2015) (REUTERS) STAFF OPEN GATE TO WINE CELLAR VARIOUS OF BOXES OF WINE ON SHELVES STAFF LOOKING AT BOX OF WINE BEFORE WALKING AWAY CORRIDOR LEADING TO A WINE CLUB HONG KONG, CHINA (RECENT - AUGUST 12, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF CROWN CELLARS FOUNDER, GREGORY DE'EB, WALKING ALONG CORRIDOR DE'EB WALKING PAST REPLICA OF PHOTO OF LITTLE HONG KONG BUNKER DE'EB WALKING TOWARDS CUPBOARD IN ROOM DE'EB OPENING CUPBOARD DE'EB PICKING UP DIARY WITH COLLECTIVE ENTRIES FROM BRITISH PRISONERS OF WAR DURING JAPANESE OCCUPATION (SOUNDBITE) (English) CROWN CELLARS FOUNDER, GREGORY DE'EB, SAYING: "So Little Hong Kong is really special for three reasons. Number one, it was a secret military facility in World War Two. Number two, it's a UNESCO Asia Pacific heritage site. But most importantly, number three, it was the very last position to surrender to the Japanese inside the Battle of Hong Kong." VARIOUS OF WORLD WAR TWO BRITISH UNEXPLODED AND DECOMMISSIONED SHELLS DE'EB STANDING NEXT TO SHELLS AND LOOKING AT DIARY DE'EB READING VARIOUS OF DE'EB'S HAND FLIPPING THROUGH PAGE, PAGE WITH DRAWING READING (In English) "PRISONERS OF WAR CAMP, SHAMSUIPO, HONG KONG" (SOUNDBITE) (English) CROWN CELLARS FOUNDER, GREGORY DE'EB, SAYING: "So before we had crates of ammunition, now we have crates of wine. The security is equally tight. The control to access is equally tough. But we found that by doing so, we have created a living museum. We're able to bring guests into Little Hong Kong, and everyone is told the story of the Battle of Hong Kong, and the story of Little Hong Kong. And together we found it's an educational institution, it's an entertainment institution, and it serves a very practical business purpose as well." HONG KONG, CHINA (RECENT - JULY 14, 2015) (REUTERS) AN EXTENDED WHITE BUILDING THAT SERVERS AS A WINE CLUB OUTSIDE BUNKER SIGN READING (English and Chinese): MEMBERS ONLY/CHAIRS AND TABLES AT WINE CLUB MOSAIC TILES FORMED LETTERS CWC (CROWN WINE CELLARS) AND UNESCO HERITAGE ON WALL
  • Embargoed: 12th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9NENRF3OKAYC4MBIKF97L0F5T
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A 1937 bunker, that today stores Hong Kong's most expensive bottles of wine, also houses some of the territory's most painful history.
    It was the last place to surrender to the Japanese during the Battle of Hong Kong, which started on December 8, 1941 and lasted 18 days until the British colony was taken over on Christmas Day.
    The area, nicked-named "Little Hong Kong", now owned by Gregory De'eb's Crown Cellars, was manned by around 60 soldiers from Britain, China, Canada and India, De'eb said.
    "So 'Little Hong Kong' is really special for three reasons. Number one, it was a secret military facility in World War Two. Number two, it's a UNESCO Asia Pacific heritage site. But most importantly, number three, it was the very last position to surrender to the Japanese inside the Battle of Hong Kong," said the founder of Crown Cellars, Gregory De'eb, who acquired the site from the Hong Kong government in 2002 on the promise to preserve its original features.
    In 2007 the cellars gained one of the four Awards of Merit of the 2007 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation.
    Formerly the "Central Ordnance Munitions Depot", the deep network of bunkers was built by the British to store arms in the defence of Hong Kong against the Japanese invasion during World War Two.
    "Little Hong Kong" was used as a code name after a fishing village five kilometres away to confuse potential Japanese spies and informants in the lead-up to the war, De'eb said.
    "So before we had crates of ammunition, now we have crates of wine. The security is equally tight. The control to access is equally tough. But we found that by doing so, we have created a living museum. We're able to bring guests into 'Little Hong Kong', and everyone is told the story of the Battle of Hong Kong, and the story of 'Little Hong Kong'. And together we found it's an educational institution, it's an entertainment institution, and it serves a very practical business purpose as well," said De'eb.
    Diaries found inside, along with WW2 shells, tell how the soldiers held out for two days after Hong Kong officially surrendered to the Japanese on the 25th of December 1941.
    On December 27th, aware that they had munitions, food and water inside, the Japanese captain agreed to an honorable surrender in Little Hong Kong, De'eb said.
    The surrender of Hong Kong to the Japanese became known as "Black Christmas", by which around 4,000 soldiers from both sides had been killed in the battle.
    The Japanese then occupied the territory for almost four years, with tales of imprisonment, torture and rape still leaving a bitter taste among some residents even today.
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