Hong Kong Snapshot (13) – The Peninsula Hong Kong – The existing oldest HK hotel, witness of Japanese occupation of Hong Kong 香港隨拍(13) – 半島酒店 – 香港現存歷史最悠久酒店，日本佔領香港的見證者

延續上一回來到了尖沙咀，實在有太多精彩的地方和故事和大家分享！因為上一次提及日本攻打香港，那麼今次我就先介紹香港半島酒店。
Continue from the last article, I found there are too many interesting stories to tell in Tsim Sha Tsui! As last time I mentioned about Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, I would first introduce to you the Peninsula Hong Kong Hotel.

拍攝當日正值半島酒店外牆裝修…. Peninsula Hong Kong, The wall was under renovation……

香港半島酒店全貌 (維基百科) Full Picture of Peninsula Hong Kong (Wikipedia)

香港半島酒店是「半島酒店」集團的第一家酒店，於1928年建成，是全球最著名及豪華的酒店之一，現已被香港古物古蹟辦事處評為一級歷史建築。
Peninsula Hong Kong is the first hotel and the flagship hotel of the Peninsula Group. It was built in 1928, which is one of the most famous and luxury hotel in the world. It is now a Grade I historic buildings in Hong Kong.

晚上的半島酒店 (維基百科) Peninsula Hong Kong at night (Wikipedia)

香港半島酒店有很多世界之最，它曾被評為全球十大知名酒店，2015年被美國Business Traveler評為全球最佳商務酒店。香港半島酒店是全球第一家擁有直升機團隊的酒店，並擁有14輛勞斯萊斯幻影房車，是全球最大的勞斯萊斯車隊，更創下了勞斯萊斯的最昂貴訂單紀錄。
Peninsula Hong Kong was rated as the best ten hotels in the world and also the best Business Hotel worldwide by the Business Traveler in 2015. Peninsula Hong Kong is the first hotel owning a team of helicopter. It has a fleet of 14 long wheelbase Rolls-Royce Phantoms, which is the biggest fleet of Rolls-Royce in the world and the largest single order placed with Rolls-Royce.

香港半島酒店的勞斯萊斯車隊 (官方網站) The Rolls-Royce fleet (official website)

華麗的酒店大堂 (官方網站) The lobby (official website)

50年代的酒店大堂 (歷史圖片) The lobby, 1950 (historic photo)

香港半島酒店總統套房的大廳，承惠港幣14萬一晚 (官方網站) The lobby of the presidential suite. It costs HK$140,000 per night.

香港半島酒店建成之時是全港最高大廈，曾入住的名人多不勝數，如美國前總統尼克遜、影星奇勒基寶、湯告魯斯、阿諾舒華辛力加、伊利沙伯泰勒、NBA球星米高佐敦、英女王伊利沙伯二世等等。就連香港著名影星郭富城及黎姿，也在香港半島酒店舉行婚宴，奇跡的是，在郭富城婚宴當日，著名的香港狗仔隊竟也不能偷偷拍下任何一張照片，可見保安的嚴密。
Peninsula was the highest building in Hong Kong. Celebrities like ex-USA president Richard Nixon, Clark Gable, Tom Cruise, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jordon, Queen Elizabeth II was also the guest of Peninsula Hong Kong. Hong Kong famous artist Aaron Kwok and Gigi Lai also had their wedding at Peninsula Hong Kong.

1930年的香港半島酒店 (維基百科) Peninsula Hong Kong, 1930 (Wikipedia)

1967年的香港半島酒店 (維基百科) Peninsula Hong Kong, 1967(Wikipedia)

50年代的酒店門僮，都是小鮮肉！(歷史圖片) Bell Boys of Peninsula Hong Kong in 1950. (historic photo)

香港半島酒店有兩個稱號，第一是「遠東貴婦」，以形容酒店在東方世界的豪華，第二個則是「影人茶座」，因為不少電影明星都愛到半島酒店喝下午茶，如張國榮、張曼玉、鍾楚紅等。
Peninsula got two title. One is “Lady of the far east”, describing the luxury of the hotel. Another one is “Café of Celebrities”, as many celebrities in HK like to have high tea in Peninsula Hong Kong, such as Leslie Cheung, Maggie Cheung, Cherie Chung, etc..

香港半島酒店英式下午茶，約港幣三百多一位 (官方網站) High Tea of Peninsula Hong Kong, pricing around HK$300-400 (official website)

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介紹了很多香港半島酒店的風光之處，但其實都不是我這文章的重點，接下來，我要說說當年香港半島在日本侵略香港時的位置……
I have introduced many of Peninsula Hong Kong, but all these are not my main point. In the coming part, I will talk about the role of Peninsula Hong Kong in the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.

1931年，日本開始侵略中國。
1931, Japan started invading China.

1936年，日本開始構思對英國作戰。
1936, Japan started the plan of fighting British.

1937年，日本全面攻打中國。
1937, Japan started the full battle with China.

1940年，法國向德國投降。
1940, France surrendered to Germany.

1941年，日本正式落實攻打香港。
1941, Japan Started invading Hong Kong.

由於英國方面一直對香港是守是防未能達到共識，故在防守香港的部署一事起步極慢。1941年12月8日，日本正式攻打香港，當時香港的駐軍加上加拿大援運只有一萬三千人，更沒有空軍存在，國民政付因自保不暇，只能提供情報協助。日軍擁三萬大軍，47架空軍戰機，外加3艘驅逐艦，全面進攻香港。
As British could not reach a consensus of defending Hong Kong or not, it came so slow for the arrangement of army in Hong Kong.8th Dec 1941, Japan invaded Hong Kong. The number of troops in Hong Kong, including the reinforcements from Canada, was only 14000.The China government could only provide intelligence support. The Japanese army consisted of 30000 troops, 47 planes and 3 destroyers.

日軍空襲香港中環 (維基百科) Air attack of Central by the Japanese (Wikipedia)

日軍攻打尖沙咀，遠處可見尖沙咀鐘樓 (維基百科) Jepanese troops in Tsim Sha Tsui (Wikipedia)

3日後的12月11日，日軍進入九龍市區，並在第二天12月12日佔領九龍半島，香港半島酒店升起了日本國旗，成為日軍臨時總部。12月25日聖誕節，香港島在日軍壓倒性的軍力下，正式失守，港督楊慕琦決定投降，開始了香港3年零8個月的日佔時期。其時，港督楊慕琦到達香港半島酒店向日軍司令酒并隆投降，在半島酒店的336室簽署投降書。
11th Dec 1941, the Japanese troops entered Kowloon and occupied Kowloon the day after. The flag of Japan raise up on the Peninsula Hong Kong. Peninsula Hong Kong became the temperate headquarters of the Japanese army.25th Dec 1941, Christmas, Hong Kong Island was occupied and Hong Kong surrendered. The Imperial Japanese occupation of Hong Kong started and lasted for 3 years and 8 months. Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Aitchison Young, arrived room 336 of Peninsula Hong Kong, and signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender.

聞說，半島酒店這麼多年來的格局沒有很大的改變，今天的336室仍然是當年的336室，如果大家想親身感受這段歷史，可以嘗試花每晚港幣約$7500的價錢入住半島酒店的336室。
It is heard that there is no big change of the structure of Peninsula Hong Kong over the years. So room 336 today is probably the room 336 in 1941. If you want to feel the day, you may try to spend HK$7500 to sleep in room 336 for a night.

1941年12月25日，香港半島酒店336室 (維基百科) Room 336, Peninsula Hong Kong, 25th Dec 1941. (Wikipedia)

1941年12月25日，日軍正式進駐香港 (歷史圖片) Japan started stationed in Hong Kong, 25th Dec 1941 (Wikipedia)

日佔時期，香港半島酒店易名為充滿日本名彩的「東亞酒店」，其他很多街道和建築都被改名。3年8個月期間，香港每天槍聲不斷，強姦、殺人、失蹤、甚至是姦屍、人食人也是常事。日佔時期之前，香港共有人口160萬，直到1945年日本投降，香港只餘下60萬人。戰後，香港政府開於半島酒店給無家可歸的難民，直到1946年，半島酒店才恢復營業。
In the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, The Peninsula Hong Kong was renamed “Toa Hotel” (East Asia Hotel). At the same time, many streets and buildings were renamed also. During the period, people heard the gunfire every day, they suffered from raping, murdering, and even raping dead body and eating people. Before that, there were 1.6M people in Hong Kong and after 1945 when Japan surrendered, there were only 600,000 people left. After the war, the HK Government opened Peninsula Hong Kong as a shelter for the refugees. Peninsula Hong Kong reopened in 1946.

日本推出的「東亞酒店」明信片(歷史照片) Postcard of Toa Hotel(Historic photo)

我講述這段歷史，並不是要說日本人如何邪惡可怕，也不是說中國人如何悲慘。回想一下，人類數千年歷史中的眾多強國民族，又有那一個沒有發生屠殺事件？數千年以來，世界戰爭不斷，就算在今日，仍是每天都有戰爭，只是集中在中東一帶而矣。
I do not mean to tell how evil the Japanese was, or how tragic the Chinese was. Let us look to the 5000 thousand years of human history, among all the Power Countries in the history, was there any one that no tragedy happened? I am sure the answer is no. Wars happened every day over the history and even now, we can see wars every day.

2016年世界核武分佈 The distribution of nuclear weapon in the world(Ploughshares Fund)

二戰之後，世界保持了70年大致的和平，原因只是因為核武的出現，並不代表人類已經厭戰，至少在亞洲，朝鮮半島的緊張局勢已是一個不知何時爆發的計時炸彈。可能如果我今日是某國元首，我也會和他們有著同樣的野心和欲望吧。如果未來某一個國家發明了能抵抗核武的防護罩，事情會如何發展？我實在不敢想像。資本主義的出現，利用了人類的欲望，諷刺地讓世界產生突破性的進步，可以說，人類的野心、人類的欲望，是一把雙面利刃，可以建立人類的文明，但也可以讓人類毀於一夕。
After the World War II, we have a general peace for almost 70 years. The reason is only the invention of nuclear power. It doesn’t mean human is already tired of war. At least, in Asia, the intense situation of the Korean is already a time bomb. Maybe, if I am the head of a country, I may have the same ambition and desire, and achieve them by wars. Let’s think about that, if a country succeeds to invent a shield of nuclear weapon, what will happen? I can’t imagine. The existence of capitalism, is just because of the ambition and desire of human. Ironically, it boosted a breakthrough progression of the human society. We may say that, the ambition of human, can build up the civilization of human, and also destroy human in one day.

現時世界大致保持和平，我悲觀的認為，只是短暫的和平，未來，當人類的軍事力量再有突破性的進展，各國的元首、野心家，會否再次蠢蠢欲動，企圖統一世界？我不知道，我只知，每當有戰事響起，受苦的必是人民。
Nowadays, the world is generally peaceful. But I may say pessimistically that, it’s only a temperate peace. In the future, when there is a breakthrough of the human military power, will the careerists, the leader of countries, come up again, and attempt the conquer the world? I don’t know. The only thing I know is that, whenever there is war, it’s the civilians who suffer most of all.

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