Many military relics of the Second World War in Hong Kong have survived into the present. The 250-metre war relics trail located on the slope of Smuggler’s Ridge of Shing Mun and Kam Shan Country Parks has a treasure trove of them. Built to defend against attacks from the north, it is an important stronghold of the Gin Drinker’s Line and features a series of defence infrastructure built before the Second World War (from around 1937 to 1938) by the British military authorities, including military marker stones, pillboxes, the defensive headquarters Shing Mun Redoubt, and some of the exits of its interconnecting tunnel system. The tunnels were named after the streets in London, like Oxford Street, Regent Street, and Shaftesbury Avenue. The redoubt was ambushed by the Japanese army from Needle Hill on 9 December, 1941, and the Gin Drinker’s Line was breached the next day, forcing the garrison to retreat to Hong Kong Island. After capturing the redoubt, the Japanese soldiers carved the name of their group on the wall of Shaftesbury Avenue Tunnel. The relics also show that the ceiling of the observation post is still peppered with bullets, reminiscent of the considerable tension during World War II. Together with the smell of war, it is charged with an atmosphere of brutality and misery of war.
To facilitate the public in planning their hikes, the geographical information of the route, including the route map, starting point, endpoint, and elevation chart, has been saved in a "GPX" file. The public can download hiking-related applications on their smartphones or smart watches, then click on the following "GPX" file to import the relevant information, which serves as an aid for hiking. Please note that downloading "GPX" files may increase data usage, and the functions and content display may vary depending on the device and application used.