Hong Kong Culture and Arts

Hong Kong Culture is very Chinese with a Western facade. over 4000 year old traditions may be practiced by residents. Simply walk through the streets of Hong Kong to see, hear, smell and taste it. Check out the various heritage tours and discover the wonder of Hong Kong's history, culture, people and soul. Read here for more information about the art and cultural scene of Hong Kong

Hong Kong Cultural Tours

• Hong Kong Traditional Lifestyles tour - This Hong Kong Culture Tour is the chance to experience Hong Kong's most traditional elements, such as Feng Shui and Tai Chi, while also seeing some of the cities most modern architecture. Start the tour with an hour-long Tai Chi lesson, either on the Hong Kong waterfront or on top of Victoria Peak. Learn how many of the skyscrapers on the city's skyline were designed based on architectural principles of Feng Shui. The conclusion of the day comes at a traditional Chinese teahouse where you'll learn all about the arts and practices that go into Chinese Tea Culture.
• Land Between Tour - New Territories is the place where you can see the diverse beauty of the nature with a blend of traditional customs along with the modern living style and man made wonders. The tour shows off the culture, history and the future of the city and you get to know more about the contributions done by the Buddhists, Confucians, and the Taoist to the society.
• Old and New Hong Kong Walk -Hong Kong is a small but has a very vibrant and colorful cultural sights. The “Old and New Hong Kong Walk” is a tour where you will come across some extremely beautiful places. Some of these are new and some are old. The architecture of the old places portrays the history associated with them. The best way to experience is to explore the city on foot. Hong Kong is not simply about shopping and entertainment, it can also boast about culture and history.
• Hong Kong Culture and Heritage Tour - The Heritage Tour is for those who want to see the more traditional side of Hong Kong. An ideal half-day out for those who want to look beyond Hong Kong's skyscrapers, the Tour will whisk you through Chinese temples, walled villages and ancestral halls in a 5-hour education on Chinese tradition. You start out at the Tai Fu Tai Mandarins Mansion, the home of an eminent 1800's scholar. Visit two traditional Chinese villages, where you can see traditional ancestral hall. Visit the Man Mo temple, dedicated to the odd couple, the gods of war and literature. Then see the Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees where locals kindle joss sticks and burn incense paper wishing that their dreams come true.
• Hong Kong’s "Famed and Famous" Tour - This tour is a cultural tour shat presents the heritage of Hong Kong’s culture, both old and new, in around seven hours. It shows the city's eclectic and exciting mix of the myths and world-renowned places where modern skyscrapers rub shoulders with the colonial buildings and the traditional Chinese temples and arts. This exotic tour offers every kind of experience from land, sea and sky. If you want to experience a unique but worthwhile tour, then this tour is for you.

Hong Kong Culture and Art Scene

• Art Galleries - Central HK, and in particular SoHo, is the place to go for browsing art. The streets around Hollywood Road and beside the Escalator have a liberal sprinkling of commercial art galleries, often focusing on contemporary Asian art. Each year many of these galleries throw their doors open for the ArtWalk fundraising event, a night of wine, mingling and art appreciation.
• Cattle Depot Artist's Village - This colonial-era slaughterhouse has been converted into an alternative cultural venue, housing progressive artists instead of cattle; located in one of Kowloon's oldest neighborhoods.
• Fringe Club - houses two theaters, three exhibitions galleries, a pottery workshop, rehearsal rooms, two café bars and a fine dining restaurant; hosts events year-round, many of which are free; also runs the annual City Fringe Festival which involves international performances; the building was originally an ice house and dates from 1913.
• Hong Kong Arts Centre - develops local contemporary arts and promotes cultural exchanges between east and west; has exhibition galleries, art shops, a café and three small theaters.
• Para/Site Art Space - contemporary art gallery down a side street off Hollywood Road; offern around 10 exhibitions a year; open from 12:00 to 19:00, Wednesday to Sunday.
• Shanghai Street Artspace - holds events on photography, books, cinema and other multimedia arts; promotes cultural exchange by presenting 'meet-the-artist' forums, outreach workshops for schools and small-scale performances; open from 11:00-20:00 closed Mondays.

Shopping at Yue Hwa

• This is an old fashioned and inexpensive store which gives an interesting glimpse into traditional Chinese Culture, including many types of tea and traditional medicines. On sale are bamboo crafts, Chinese oil paintings, mahjong sets, rosewood furniture, tennis table bats, woolen underwear, cheongsams, shoes, men’s suits and cute children’s Chinese outfits.
• It’s a good place to buy an everyday Chinese tea set as there is a diverse range of styles and prices are reasonable. The main branch is in Causeway Bay but the other main department store branch are at 1 Kowloon Park Drive in Tsim Sha Tsui and King’s Road North Point. there are other smaller branches that specialize in Chinese medicines.

Hong Kong Culture Icons

• Hong Kong Governors House - The beautiful and captivating white Victorian structure that occupies the land between Upper and Lower Albert roads is Governors House. Although the building was made in 1855, it was significantly improved during the Japanese occupation. Thus, the building's architecture features a fusion of the classical and modern forms. The subtle Japanese influence, particularly in the roof eaves, will be evident to the well-trained and cultured artist or architect. Discussions about the House's feng shui vary.
• Hong Kong Heritage Sites - In many cases, memorial plaques are all that remain of former historic buildings but a scattering of old structures has been preserved. These give an insight into how people lived and worked in old Hong Kong. They range from colonial police stations and market buildings to Qing dynasty Chinese mansions and walled villages. Some are in use as museums. Five heritage trails have marked out by the government's Antiquities and Monuments Office; two in the New Territories at Ping Shan and Lung Yuek Tau, and three on Hong Kong Island covering Central, Western and The Peak.
• The HK Jockey Club - Surpluses from its operation are allocated to the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust which serves as the administrator for the club's charitable donations. The trust serves four principal areas of civic and social need: sports, recreation and culture, education and training, community services and medical and health.
• Hong Kong Outlying Islands - Hop on a ferry out to the Outlying Islands of which Hong Kong has over 260, For some wholesome fun and an outdoor workout. at the three most popular islands - Lantau, Lamma and Cheung Chau - you and your family can go on nature walks, watch wild dolphins, check out temples, caves and forts, or simply splash on some suntan lotion and relax on the beach. Many visitors come out not for culture but for sun and seafood, and the islands have plenty of both
• Hong Kong Seaside Villages - Hong Kong waterfront settlements and seaside villages are some of the oldest habitations in South China. To experince this, visit Tai O, Mun, Shek O, Cheng Chau or any of the accessible seaside town to get an insight into Hong Kong life for generations. Discover Tin Hau temples which have a religious connection to the ocean for most fishermen.
• Buildings in Hong Kong - Due to Cantonese culture and beliefs, the 88 storeys of the tallest building in Hong Kong may not be exactly eighty-eight (88).  Why? Because of superstitious reasons, "taboo floors" like 14 and 24 are omitted because these numbers, according to Cantonese culture, sound like "definitely die" and "easy to die" respectively.
• Hong Kong Parks and Beaches - Country Parks Visitors Centres at popular entry points provide background information on geography ecology and local culture designated campsites and barbecue areas.

Hong Kong Culture in Museums

• An array of specially themed museums scattered around Kowloon and Central also give great insight into the history and culture of Hong Kong.
• The Hong Kong Heritage Museum features ancient Chinese bronzes, ceramics, dynastic pottery, and a unique exhibit of costumes and memorabilia of the Cantonese Opera.
• Also of note is the Hong Kong Museum of History, which outlines the 400 million years of historical development in Hong Kong with the use of ecological settings, panoramic screens, dioramas, and interactive programs.
• Seven galleries of oil paintings, drawings, etchings, and lithographs are on display at the Hong Kong Museum of Art, with one gallery devoted to the Xubaizhai collection of Chinese painting and calligraphy.
• Teaware elevated to art form can be found at the Flagstaff House Museum of Teaware. Housed in the oldest colonial-style building in Hong Kong, the museum displays teaware dating from 1,000 years ago to the present.

Hong Kong Hong Kong Culture - Festivals/Events

• Chinese New Year - Though primarily a family affair, Chinese New Year is a time when the city is alive with more neon and glitter than usual. Stores deck out their windows, and the city sets off enough fireworks to frighten away evil spirits for the entire year.
• Tin Hau Festival - The entire fishing industry owes its fortune to Tin Hau, the goddess of the sea. To honor her, boats in Victoria Harbor are loaded with offerings and adorned with colorful flags.
• Bun Festival Bun Festival - Since 1777, residents of the island of Cheung Chau have been constructing 52-foot towers covered in lotus bean buns in celebration of Pak Tai, the Taoist God of the Sea. Besides the bun towers, the eight-day festival features a parade in which children are dressed in elaborate costumes, placed on stilts and appear to float above the crowds.
• Mid-Autumn Festival - The festival commemorates a 14th Century uprising against the Mongols. In a cunning plan, the rebels wrote the call to revolt on pieces of paper and embedded them in cakes that they smuggled to compatriots.

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Hong Kong Hotels - Many Hotels in Hong Kong feature all of the amenities, facilities and levels of comfort you would expect from modern hotels combined with Hong Kong's rich and vibrant culture with modern hotel facilities. They also provide quick guides to Modern China Learn about modern China, people, culture, custom, business and way of life. Part of the excitement and romance of a vacation in Hong Kong is experiencing a new culture and taking in the grit as well as the beauty.

Hong Kong Disneyland - Sensitivity to Chinese culture was important in creating the park. A Chinese menu was developed to complement Disney's traditional Western fare; there are Mandarin-, Cantonese- and English-speaking staff; and a master of the 14th century art of feng shui was consulted on the park's design to make sure it sits harmoniously with the natural environment.