The Dynasty That Died in Hong Kong

Well before the British set eyes on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and Lantau played a direct role in the tragic destiny of a Chinese imperial dynasty.

In the second half of the 13th century, the Mongol armies of Kublai Khan swept through China, leaving the imperial court of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279) little choice but to flee southward. Eventually, in 1276, the Song capital of Lin'an (now Hangzhou) fell to the Mongols, and Emperor Gong was captured.

Loyal ministers managed to smuggle out the emperor's young half-brothers, Zhao Shi (趙昰) and Zhao Bing (趙昺), fleeing further south with thousands of ships and soldiers until they reached the southernmost edge of the empire—the region known today as Kowloon and Lantau Island.

As the imperial entourage camped in Kowloon City near Sacred Hill, Zhao Shi, enthroned as Emperor Duanzong (宋端宗), fell severely ill after nearly drowning during a storm in the Pearl River Delta in 1278, at the age of ten. Following his death, his seven-year-old brother, Zhao Bing, was crowned Emperor Bing of Song (宋帝昺) at Mui Wo on Lantau Island on May 10, 1278.

Under heavy pressure from the Mongol navy, the remnants of the imperial court fled further west to Yamen (now Jiangmen). The ensuing naval Battle of Yamen—one of the largest naval battles in world history—saw the utter and systematic destruction of the Song fleet.

Refusing to see the young sovereign captured by the newly established Yuan Dynasty, Grand Chancellor Lu Xiufu (陸秀夫) took the seven-year-old Emperor Bing in his arms and leaped into the sea. Their drowning brought a definitive end to the Song Dynasty.