October 2025
Hong Kong Baptist University’s (HKBU) distinct special and archival collections primarily reflect Hong Kong’s topography and culture alongside the University’s Christian heritage. The collections comprise a range of materials, from books to pamphlets to posters, many of which are digitized and freely available online. HKBU Library collaborates with researchers, faculty, and external partners to integrate special and archival collections into digital projects, teaching, and personal and organizational projects.
The Derwent Collection comprises more than 200 artworks, including watercolor paintings, sketches (“China coast paintings”), block-prints, and photographs. Documenting Macau’s transformation during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this collection also traces the evolution of artistic reproduction techniques, from copperplate engraving and lithography to early photography. Donated by Mr. Brian Cuthbertson in 2005, it is named after the Derwent River in Tasmania, his birthplace.
The Library also holds several art collections related to Hong Kong’s history and culture. The Hong Kong Travel Posters collection consists of nearly 140 posters produced by the Hong Kong Tourist Association/Board and airlines from the 1930s to 1990s. These posters document Hong Kong’s shifting visual identity, from British colony to vibrant metropolis, renowned for its blend of Eastern and Western cultures, iconic skyline, neon-lit streetscapes, bustling markets, and reputation as a shopping paradise.
Another unique collection is Portrait Sketches by Kong Kai Ming, a series of 200 original works capturing everyday people on Hong Kong’s streets during the 1950s and 1960s. This collection by the renowned local artist is truly one of a kind.
In related to primary resources, the Contemporary China Research Collection, established in 1985 with materials from the Union Research Institute, includes over 4,000 pamphlets and more than three million indexed newspaper clippings and periodical articles from the 1950s to 1970s. Sourced from about 230 Chinese-language newspapers and 40 periodicals across China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, the clippings are organized by subject and many are preserved on microfilm. Over 200,000 clippings are indexed and accessible via the Library’s Chinese Newspaper Clippings Database, offering valuable resources for research on contemporary Chinese history and society.
The Archives on the History of Christianity in China (AHC) is a flagship collection at HKBU Library, featuring approximately 9,000 books and serials, 29,000 microforms, and various pictorial materials and missionary correspondence. While AHC primarily documents Protestant missions in Greater China from the nineteenth century onwards, it also includes significant materials on Catholic Church activities. These resources offer a vital foundation for research into Christianity’s historical and cultural influence in China and Hong Kong. Ongoing digitization projects continue to enhance accessibility for scholars worldwide.
The Library’s Art Collection includes the Chinese Missionary Art Collection, featuring over 240 items—posters, postcards, maps, and tracts—illustrating the educational, evangelical, and medical work of missionaries in China from the nineteenth to twentieth centuries.
HKBU looks forward to contributing selected special collections to the PRRLA website; we are currently engaged in this new project. By sharing these collections, we hope to enrich PRL’s collections relating to culture and heritage in China and the Greater Bay, enhance the diverse representation and strengths of PRRLA members, and promote research and collaboration opportunities.
HKBU Library is enthusiastic about creating new and strengthening existing connections with PRRLA members and exploring new ways to raise awareness and research opportunities relating to our region’s rich and varied history.
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