The capabilities of geographic information systems (GIS) are advancing. It can serve cross-disciplinary academic purposes including the study of spatial history. Esri China (Hong Kong) supports the adoption of GIS in the study of spatial history at Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU). GIS provides the ability to integrate, analyze, and visualize spatio-temporal data in one integrated system. It has profound implications for research and education in history.

Dr. Kwong Chi Man, Associate Professor of the Department of History from the HKBU, launched the undergraduate course “Topics Studies in Asian History: Introduction of Spatial History”. About 40 students from the Department of History, HKBU, attended the training session provided by Esri China (Hong Kong) to learn about ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS StoryMaps for mapping and visualizing historical GIS data. They visited Geospatial Lab to master georeferencing on historic maps with ArcGIS Pro.

Students from the Department of History of the Hong Kong Baptist University attend our GIS training session.

Students formed in groups to conduct spatial history research. The group presented their project with ArcGIS StoryMaps under the title “From Defense to Taxation: Qing Dynasty’s Military and Custom Facilities in Hong Kong” and was awarded the scholarship - Esri China (Hong Kong) Prize in Spatial History. The StoryMap is now available at StoryMap Gallery.

The champion group from the History Department of Hong Kong Baptist University used 19^th-century maps to study the military and custom facilities in Hong Kong during the Qing Dynasty.

The award-winning StoryMap showcases georeferenced historic map overlays on modern map layers, integrating historic points of interest with attribute data.

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