A Guide to Hong Kong’s New Culture District

For a few years, Hong Kong was dismissed as a cultural desert. Certain, the meals was implausible and the procuring was unbelievable, however these in search of artwork had been typically left wanting. 

The concept for an arts enclave emerged round 1997, across the identical time that the previous British crown colony was handed again to China. Below a grasp plan by the architects Foster + Companions, a 100-acre “cultural hub” could be constructed on reclaimed land fronting Victoria Harbour. It took practically 30 years, however the West Kowloon Cultural District has lastly taken form. At this time, there are world-class museums, an opera home, theaters, and open parkland for space-starved Hong Kongers.

“There’s rather more to return,” says Rocco Yim, the architect behind the Hong Kong Palace Museum, which opened in 2022. “The realm is simply one-third to one-half full.” Right here, a information to what’s new. 

Freespace

Because the title suggests, this performing arts center is designed to be versatile and imaginative. The bunker-like advanced homes a black field theater and studios for experimental performances and dance, in addition to the Lau Bak Livehouse, a coffeehouse and bar with dwell music on weekends.

Hong Kong Palace Museum

Resembling a Chinese language gold ingot, Hong Kong Palace Museum showcases artifacts from China’s imperial palaces, together with Ming dynasty ceramics, scroll work, and double-headed dragons from the Nationwide Palace Museum in Beijing’s Forbidden Metropolis. 

Artwork Park

Hugging the waterfront promenade, Art Park is an oasis for joggers, picnickers, museumgoers, and canine walkers (does everybody on this metropolis personal a Shiba Inu?). There are greater than a dozen locations to eat and drink all through this expansive garden — round sundown, seize a seat at one of many harborside cafes beneath the Palace Museum. The amenities are spotless, too.

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M+

With works by Ai Weiwei and different blue-chip Chinese language artists, M+ is meant to rival establishments like MoMA and the Tate Trendy in its ambition. The futuristic constructing, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, has one façade that lights up like a Blade Runner billboard. Simply as spectacular is the design assortment, which features a Nineteen Eighties sushi bar from Tokyo that was rebuilt piece by piece. 

Xiqu Heart

This performance hall, which hosts Cantonese opera, has an exterior with aluminum shingles that resemble fish scales. A big opening fills the atrium with breezes and pure gentle. Even when xiqu (Chinese language opera) isn’t your cup of tea, the general public atrium is an inviting place to relaxation earlier than exploring the outlets alongside Canton Highway.

The place to Keep

A fast hop from the cultural district, the 413-room Rosewood Hong Kong, which occupies half of a 65-story tower, anchors the brand new Kowloon waterfront. The model’s flagship property, it has 12 locations to eat and drink, together with two Michelin-starred eating places, and is linked to the sprawling K11 Musea mall.

A model of this story first appeared within the August 2024 problem of Journey + Leisure underneath the headline “Again to the Future.”