For all of Hong Kong’s glitz, glamour and hedonism, sink deeper into its streets and you’ll find the arts and culture museums dedicated to documenting its past and celebrating its future.
Liang Yi Museum
The past is not a dusty memory here, but an immersive homage to the centuries-old power
There’s a concept from Peter Fung, the ardent Chinese antique collector who founded the unassuming Liang Yi Museum 兩依藏博物館 in Sheung Wan, that encourages people to touch and hold its impressive collection of antiques because the belief is, the more it’s touched, the better it shines.
Here inside the hushed halls of Asia’s largest private museum, Chinese antique furniture from the Ming Dynasty holds equal value to a bejewelled Boucheron minaudière from the 1960s.
The four-storey museum is home to one of the world’s largest and best-curated collections of Chinese antique furniture, along with a unique collection of bejewelled clutches, compacts and powder boxes from the late 1880s through to the 2000s from some of the world’s most prestigious jewellery brands, including Cartier, Boucheron and Van Cleef & Arpels.
A table laid out with European silverware also demonstrates the uniqueness of this private collection, where you can pick up an ornate French silver gilt trophy with both hands and marvel at the craftsmanship of a bygone age; while Japanese decorative works of art also feature in the expansive collection - including a collection of rare silk tobacco and cosmetics cases.
But it’s the story behind the pair of 17th-century Chinese cabinets decorated with marble slabs featuring illustrated vignettes that charmed me the most.
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Advertise with NZME.Made from yellow rosewood, the cabinet harks back to the Ming dynasty and was used by the owner’s great-grandson as a TV cabinet, with holes drilled into the back for the TV cable to connect to the electrical outlet.
Another impressive piece that commands attention is the rare inclusion of a shrine from the golden age of the Qing dynasty that warrants its own room.
As our personal guide explains, the collection has been a passion project for Peter, who has passed on his love of antiques to his daughter Lynn Fung, the former Tatler editor who now serves as the director of the museum.
Plan your visit:
The beauty of Liang Yi is that it is by appointment only. Open between 10am-6pm Monday to Friday, the museum’s guided tour is the perfect way to enter a portal back in time, perfectly located in the heart of Hollywood Rd in Sheung Wan, the capital of Hong Kong’s antique community. Be sure to take a form of identification or your passport with you for registration at reception.
Guided tours cost HK$200 (about $44) and on Wednesdays, they are open free of charge to full-time students with prior arrangement. Children under the age of 12 are not permitted.
181, 199 Hollywood Rd, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong. Liangyimuseum.com
M+
This cutting-edge museum is focused squarely on the future.
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Advertise with NZME.Look down into the cavernous gully of the handsome M+ Museum designed by Swiss architectural firm Herzog & De Meuron and you’ll mesmerised by its sheer scale.
From this vantage point on the entrance level, you can crane your head up and down and not tire of this concrete wonder with its 33 gallery spaces, three cinemas, research centre, tea and coffee bar, member’s lounge, office spaces, and a rooftop garden that takes in panoramic views of Victoria Harbour. Oh and for those who like a decent gift shop, there are two.
Opened in 2021, The M+ art museum has already made an impact on the local arts scene, located in its prime spot of the West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong. It exhibits 20th- and 21st-century creations encompassing visual art, design and architecture, and moving images, with collections aimed at rivalling the likes of New York’s MoMA, Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Tate Modern in London.
When we visited, a diverse range of exhibitions were already in place, illustrating the breadth of its appeal. An exhibition dedicated to couturier Guo Pei - whose blockbuster exhibition at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki last summer was a highlight on the local cultural calendar - is on display until April 2025, while a first full-scale retrospective of influential architect I. M. Pei is on until early January.
A survey of Hong Kong director Tsui Hark’s celebrated works and a new artist-focused programme Avant-Garde Now takes centre stage as part of its cinema schedule; and avant-garde performance art offers a day-long immersion into performance art on film, demonstrating how contemporary artists create at the intersection of performance and moving image.
M+ offers the range and style required for a world-class museum with a central focus on contemporary, visual culture - but what’s better is the opportunity to head directly to the rooftop to recalibrate your eyes. It’s described as the M+ playscape, featuring the work of sculptor and designer Isamu Noguchi. Taking in the impressive exhibitions and expressions of art below, the outdoor space offers a chance to sit and reflect on what you’ve just seen while overlooking the glory of Victoria Harbour - if you’ve got fidgety kids in tow, take them here.
38 Museum Drive, West Kowloon, Hong Kong. Mplus.org.hk
Plan your visit:
The museum is closed on Mondays. It opens Tuesday to Thursday and weekends from 10-6pm; and 10am-10pm on Fridays. It is open on all public holidays.
You can explore free spaces of the museum, or purchase tickets for more access to special exhibitions. Access to the Mediatheque, the Grand Stair (except for ticketed events), and the Roof Garden remains free. Bags and backpacks smaller than 30cm x 42cm x 10cm are allowed in the galleries, but backpacks must be worn on the front of the body with the strap(s) slung over one or both shoulders. Larger items must be checked into lockers or the cloakroom, available for rental.
Tai Kwun
The former Central Police Station of Hong Kong has been transformed into an oasis of art and contemplation.
By the time this is out, New Zealand multi-disciplinary artist and Venice Biennale alumni Lisa Reihana will have wrapped up her month-long exhibition at Tai Kwun, the heritage arts venue located at the former Central Police Station of Hong Kong, at the eastern end of Hollywood Rd, in Central.
DigiRadiance: GOLD_LEAD_WOOD_COAL is Lisa’s multi-channel video installation exploring questions around foreign labour, longing and displacement, and one of several exhibitions that feel at home at Tai Kwun, a historical landmark in Hong Kong that celebrates an eclectic mix of visual arts, music and theatre performances, film screenings and educational programmes.
If you’re there between now and February 2, don’t miss Tao Hui: In the Land Beyond Living. A poignant study on contemporary society in China and the human condition at large is how the notes for this multi-element exhibition describes the exhibition, which spans painting, sculpture, video, sound, installation and set design. Artist Tao Hui takes us from north to south, the inland to the coast, the urban to the rural, the industrial to the natural. One work, for example, is a sculpture with one side showing a video of a woman talking through a sales pitch of flatscreen TV in an infomercial, while on the other side, the screen is propped up by a melting wooden figure.
To get a better scale and understanding of the significance of Tai Kwun at large, take a tour that delves into its architectural heritage and visit the Victoria Prison, an integral part of the Tai Kwun compound that offers context of space and place, while providing an insight into the penal system of the past. Along with the former prison, Tai Kwun is home to 16 revitalised heritage buildings, including the former Central Police Station and Central Magistracy. In 2019, it received the Award of Excellence in the Unesco Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.
Its more recent addition, the JC Contemporary (also known as Tai Kwun Contemporary), which opened in 2018 after a multimillion-dollar revamp of Tai Kwun, covers more than 1400sq m of contemporary art exhibition space. And if arts and heritage isn’t a priority, at least admire the wonder of its spiralling interior staircase. One of my favourite areas was the artist library space filled with a variety of unique and niche art books (check out the hilarious Art Meme wall poking fun at the sometimes pretentious world of art).
Tai Kwun was recognised by Unesco with their Award of Excellence, a unique accolade that honours the meticulous conservation and integrity of the historic 170-year-old buildings.
10 Hollywood Rd, Central, Hong Kong. Taikwun.hk
Plan your visit:
Tai Kwun is open 8am-11pm. As it is considered a heritage site, be mindful - every wall and door is a part of Hong Kong’s history.
Aqua Luna
Victoria Harbour’s famous red-sailed junk boats are an iconic cultural treasure not to be missed (especially at sunset).
If you need fresh air away from the hallowed halls of Hong Kong’s world-class galleries and museums, cut to the chase and head straight for a sunset boat ride aboard the Aqua Luna, Hong Kong’s famously beloved Cheung Po Tsai (張保仔)/junk boat which cruises around Victoria Harbour with stops at Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, Wan Chai and Hung Hom during the day and Central and Tsim Sha Tsui in the evening. Order a glass of wine or sundowner mocktail after a full day of exploring the streets, sprawl across its loungers and enjoy the breathtaking panoramic views during this 45-minute harbour cruise. This is the most basic offer, with other cruise options that cater to those looking to add a little more to the experience including an afternoon tea cruise and a dim sum cruise for foodie explorers, combining exquisite dim sum while exploring Hong Kong’s secret fishing village – Lei Yue Mun. If you time it right, we also recommend the spectacular Symphony of Lights cruise, where a light, laser and music show enhances the magic of Hong Kong in the dark as the harbour and the city’s skyscrapers put on a memorable display of colour and technology.
There are two pick-up points - the first at Tsim Sha Tsui Pier 1; and the second at Central Pier 9. For timings and bookings visit Aqualuna.com.hk
Dan Ahwa travelled to Hong Kong courtesy of Hong Kong Tourism Board. Cathay Pacific flies daily from Auckland to Hong Kong.
Hero image: Model Ziying Zhao from Quest Models photographed on the Aqua Luna boat along Victoria Harbour at sunset. Rory William Docherty shirt and skirt. Yim Tom Jewels jade earrings from The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong.
Photographer / Babiche Martens. Fashion director / Dan Ahwa. Hair and makeup / Krystina Te Kanawa. Shoot assistant / Emma Gleason.
Dan Ahwa travelled to Hong Kong courtesy of Hong Kong Tourism Board. Cathay Pacific flies daily from Auckland to Hong Kong.
Dan Ahwa is Viva’s fashion and creative director and a senior premium lifestyle journalist for the New Zealand Herald, specialising in the intersections of style, luxury, art and culture. Recent stories to catch up on include how at the Hīkoi to parliament, self-expression through dress was also a form of protest; interviewing Team NZ CEO Grant Dalton; and the connection between navy suits conservatism and dressing fragile masculinity in a Trump era.
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