The Best Museums in Hong Kong

This former Central Police Station complex has been transformed into a centre for heritage and arts in one of the city’s biggest ever conservation projects, costing HK$3.8 billion. The focus here is on contemporary art, and the venue hosts six to eight exhibitions every year as well as regular performing arts programmes. Visitors have the chance to explore the site’s history through designated heritage storytelling spaces dotted throughout the site, and through the tours offered of the historic Central Police Station compound and Hong Kong’s first prison, Victoria Prison. It is an excellent starting place to reflect on Hong Kong’s storied colonial history. The complex also includes great restaurants, a handful of bars and local artisan boutique shops to refuel and pick up some souvenirs after exploring the museum and gallery.

Situated next door to the Space Museum on the Tsim Tsa Tsui waterfront, the most famous of Hong Kong’s art museums is home to a collection of over 16,000 art objects, including Chinese paintings and calligraphy, Chinese antiquities and China trade art as well as works by local artists. In an ongoing artist exchange programme, international artists also regularly exhibit here. The museum has been closed for renovation and expansion since August 2015 but is due to reopen in November 2019 with a new annex block capable of accommodating larger and more monumental contemporary artworks.