In association with: Hong Kong Tourism Board
The West Kowloon Cultural District is a must-visit for creative travellers
Hong Kong is rapidly defining itself as the go-to arts hub in the Asia-Pacific region, with West Kowloon poised to become the jewel in its crown. The cultural quarter boasts an array of exciting arts venues and museums, with more scheduled to open in the coming years, and is set to be one of the largest developments of its kind in the world.
West Kowloon lies on the waterfront across the harbour from Hong Kong Island. As well as five museums and theatres, the 40-hectare cultural district has a huge outdoor space, Art Park, which will have capacity to host events and festivals for up to 10,000 people. It’s also a prime spot from which to admire the city’s stunning harbour skyline.
Freespace, a contemporary performance centre, opened in 2019, along with Xiqu Centre, which aims to preserve traditional Chinese theatre and Hong Kong’s Cantonese opera. Visitors can take guided tours of the Xiqu Centre, enjoy live music performances or buy a ticket to one of its shows to learn about and experience the heritage of Chinese theatre.
A highly anticipated attraction due to open this year is M+, the first global museum of contemporary visual culture in Asia. It will be dedicated to collecting, exhibiting and interpreting visual art, moving image, design and architecture.
Also scheduled to open in 2022 is the Hong Kong Palace Museum, which will display artefacts from the Palace Museum in Beijing. Its facilities will include a 400‑seat theatre and two exhibition halls. Meanwhile, the Lyric Theatre is set to follow in 2023, with three auditoriums for dance and theatre performances.
Hong Kong is a lively, vibrant city waiting to be explored. It’s home to striking street art, famous festivals and world-class exhibitions, and West Kowloon is set to be the heart of its creative community.
Did you know?
Over half of the area will be a carbon-neutral public park, with sculpted terrain, dense trees, outdoor terraces and promenades. The 17 cultural venues will be located among them on the waterfront.
Win one of 20 art-inspired Hong Kong goodie bags
For your chance to win one of 20 art‑inspired Hong Kong goodie bags, visit comp.travelweekly.co.uk/HongKong and answer the questions by the closing date of June 22.
Find out more about Hong Kong’s arts scene here.
discoverhongkong.com/arts
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