Star-studded with Historic Treasures of Weather Telling — The Observatory of Hong Kong

The free public tour at the Hong Kong Observatory is rumored to be very difficult for anyone to secure a spot. I was fortunate that I succeeded in signing up in my first attempt. Established in 1883, the Observatory was intended to be a site of observation of astronomical phenomena. As such, it was not, strictly speaking, a meteorological institute. The original intention of the Observatory was to assist maritime navigation by telling time and forecasting storms. The Hong Kong Observatory building is an antique monument. Built in 1884 in the Victorian-Colonial style, the building features two stories in a rectangular block with very classy verandas. The New Centennial Building next door has given home to the scientific wing of the Observatory since 1984. In our tour, we learned plenty of interesting facts about the weather forecasting function of the Observatory. I will discuss just a few of those lessons here. In the front patch, there are a number of functioning and nonfunctioning instruments related to weather forecasting. A set of enormous metal typhoon signals hang there. They are the very testament to how technology changes official practice, resulting in changes of the standard official language. In a bygone time that I still remember, the Hong Kong Observatory’s language reporting typhoons references to the act of “hoisting,” as in “Typhoon Signal No. 8 has been hoisted.” Back in those days, the Hong Kong Observatory would actually hoist these very heavy metal-made typhoon signs on its pole on its Tsim Sha Tsui premise. Those were the days when this hillside location was a high point, where people in approaching ships and surrounding buildings could see the signs. Times have changed, and so has the urban face of Hong Kong. There is no longer any point in “hoisting” the typhoon signals now, as every single building in Tsim Sha Tsui has dwarfed the typhoon pole by now. The metal framed typhoon signs are simply relics these days, and the standard language for typhoons is “Typhoon Signal No. X has now been issued.” To visit the Hong Kong Observatory, you must sign up for its public tour. #observatory #hongkonghistory #hongkong #kowloon #meridian #历史古迹 #historicallandmarks #tour #typhoon #博物馆