Is there anything Hong Kong doesn’t offer? It’s a question we’ve often asked ourselves while assessing the numerous things to do, see and experience in this incredible city. Your holiday in Hong Kong can feature anything and everything from delicious eats and exploring nature to all sorts of shopping to discovering a rich world of arts and culture.
With so many reasons to visit some travellers may be unaware that Hong Kong today is the arts hub of Asia Pacific, and one of the world’s leading centres for culture. In fact, it is the perfect destination for the culturally inquisitive and art curious. The scene here is fast-paced and full of innovation, helped in recent years by an influx of not only international museums and galleries, but home-grown and grassroots arts spaces and movements. The growth of the arts has come hand in hand with a renewed appreciation of heritage that has led to a celebration of local traditions and culture and the development of a host of ways to connect with a fascinating past.
Read on to find out more about the very best arts and culture things to do in Hong Kong.
Museums & Galleries
Hong Kong boasts a number of world class museums and galleries covering priceless antiquities to contemporary visual arts. The recently developed West Kowloon Cultural District has created a focal point of arts and culture on a grand scale and has become one of the top things to do in Hong Kong. M+, opened in 2021, styles itself as a ‘global museum of contemporary visual culture’, showcasing contemporary art of both established, international names and works of emerging local artists. Close by the Hong Kong Palace Museum has nine galleries packed with over 900 pieces of priceless antiquity from the Palace Museum in Beijing and other cultural institutions around the world. The final piece of the West Kowloon Cultural District triad is the Xiqu Centre, an award-winning venue which stages productions of Cantonese opera and other regional forms of Chinese opera. All of these institutions are set in glorious parkland, right on the waterfront; it is certainly the kind of place that will get your creative juices flowing.
Nearby in the Tsim Sha Shui neighbourhood is the grand dame of the Hong Kong cultural scene, the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Here you’ll find a collection of 19,500 pieces in four core pillars of interest – Chinese antiquities, modern and local Hong Kong art, Chinese painting and calligraphy and China trade art. A wander through its permanent exhibitions, which is free, is one of the must do things to do while in Hong Kong.
The great thing about arts and culture in Hong Kong is that it isn’t just fabulous at the top level, the innovation and vision is just as strong at its roots…
Hong Kong’s Art & Culture Hubs
Hong Kong’s streets are full of heritage buildings, traditional craftspeople and urban street art, wonderful connections to the past that are now being amplified by cultural hubs and artist run spaces.
Heritage arts spaces offer an intersection of heritage, art, food and lifestyle. Tai Kwun in Central occupies three declared monuments, including the former Central Police Station, and offers a performance space and arts space, boutique shops, bars and restaurants. It hosts heritage experiences, thematic art exhibitions and much more, highlighting and stoking the renaissance of local culture, heritage, and arts.
H Queen’s in the heart of Central, itself an architectural landmark, brings together international shopping and acclaimed restaurants with five galleries that host local and international artists.
The Mills, in the New Territories, has reclaimed Hong Kong’s industrial heritage by turning a former textile mill into a space for exhibitions and community events and houses tech start-ups, local shops, bars, restaurants, artisanal cafes and CHAT (Centre for Heritage Art and Textiles).
Another great example is PMQ, a centre of local artisan culture and a showcase for what Hong Kong creatives are inspired by. It is set within the beautifully restored Hollywood Road Police Married Quarters, now home to studios, artisan shop, galleries, installations, and restaurants.
Drop into one or two of Hong Kong’s artist run spaces for a glimpse at the arts and culture at a grassroots level. Places like Para Site, Leather Factory on Peng Chau, Cattle Depot Artist Village offer a venue for local artists to experiment with, produce and show contemporary art within a friendly, supportive community, often giving new life to a heritage or industrial building in the process.
Arts & Culture at Street Level
Be it a museum, a hub or an artist run space, art isn’t just found within four walls. Another of this city’s delights, is that there are artworks and workshops around every corner and down every alley so one of the greatest things to do in Hong Kong, especially for lovers of art and culture is to simply wander and see what you stumble across.
Try Wan Chai for heritage architecture and historic, traditional temples. Here you’ll also find The Blue House, a 1922 Tong Lau tenement building in a striking colour, now a community space where you can explore the area’s rich history and culture. The Blue House is one of 22 places in Hong Kong that are on the prestigious UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation list.
Sheung Wan neighbourhood is a wonderful mixture of past and future, its streets dotted with contemporary galleries and longstanding antique shops. If you walk from here along the Hollywood Road towards Central you’ll also find colourful street murals – those on the corner of Graham Street, Alex Croft’s Townhouses, are particularly popular.
Sham Shui Po’s Tai Nan Street, a former manufacturing hub, is now home to an artistic community and full of creative and cultural spaces. It’s easy to find their work – in Sham Shui Po and Yau Ma Tei, shop shutters have been turned into works of art that depict everyday life. In fact, the beautification of street furniture can be found at an even lower level; keep an eye out for manhole covers, all across Hong Kong, decorated to reflect the unique features and landmarks of their location.
Arts & Culture Events in Hong Kong
There are always art and culture events going on in Hong Kong. The busiest month is March, offering a full calendar of exhibitions, installations, experiences, community, and cultural events and much, much more. The highlight is the culmination of both Art Basel, an art fair and platform for international artists and galleries to show and sell their work and Art Central, which showcases emerging talent. March also sees ComplexCon, a celebration of international pop and urban culture, the Hong Kong 7s, Creamfields – the dance music festival – and the LIV Golf League.
As a destination, Hong Kong can be whatever you want it to be. It has food, shopping, history, beaches, art, culture, nature and everything in between. Explore it for yourself on one of our stopover itineraries – our three-day Hong Kong Glimpses or four-day Hong Kong in Focus itineraries or speak to us about creating an adventure of your very own.
