Hong Kong has numerous museums dedicated to the social, historical, cultural, and artistic productions and evolution of the city. Here, we provide a summary of the permanent and special exhibitions currently on at Hong Kong’s major museums.
Some special exhibitions require an extra entrance fee on top of the museum admission ticket. If no fee is stated, visitors can enjoy free access.
Hong Kong Museum of Art
Hong Kong Museum of Art, 10 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui | +852 2721 0116
When Form Matters: Following the Path of Lui Shou-kwan to Zen Painting
Lui Shou-kwan was a pioneer of the New Ink Art Movement in Hong Kong. This exhibition charts his experimentation with different forms of ink painting and the work of his peers.
Type: Permanent exhibition
When: From Aug 13, 2021
Fee: Free
Mythologies: Surrealism and Beyond — Masterpieces from Centre Pompidou
Jointly organized by the Museum of Art and Centre Pompidou, which houses the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris. Over 100 art pieces and archive material from Surrealist artists such as Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, Giorgio de Chirico, and Jason Pollock.
Type: Special exhibition
When: May 21 – Sep 15, 2021
Fee: $15-$30
Art of the South Nanling: A Selection of Guangdong Painting from the Hong Kong Museum of Art
The Lingnan or Cantonese School of painting branched off from traditional Chinese painting in the last millenium. This exhbition showcases 80 works dating from the late Ming dynasty to the 20th century with a focus on the historical and artistic development of painting in the Lingnan region.
Type: Special exhibition
When: Jun 11 – Nov 3, 2021
Fee: Free
NOT a fashion store!
Showcasing clothing, shoes, and accessories from the museum’s four main collections, this “store” explores the connections between fashion trends, aesthetic value, and pop culture.
Type: Special exhibition
When: Mar 19, 2021 – Jan 5, 2022
Fee: Free
New Horizons: Ways of Seeing Hong Kong Art in the 80s and 90s
This exhibition showcases contemporary art of various mediums including installation art, new media, and photography from 1980s and 1990s Hong Kong. Participating guest artists include the founding members of Para/site and co-founders of contemporary photography organization NuNaHeDuo.
Type: Special exhibition
When: Mar 5, 2021 – April 24, 2022
Fee: Free
Hong Kong Museum of History
Hong Kong Museum of History, 100 Chatham Rd S, Tsim Sha Tsui | +852 2724 9042
Recreating a Classic: The Best Features of The Hong Kong Story
The “Hong Kong Story” permanent exhibition, documenting 400 million years of geological, cultural, and social history on the stage of the Hong Kong region, opened in 2001. The comprehensive exhibition, which takes visitors through the entire museum building, has been undergoing a revamp since 2020. The current temporary exhibition containing select exhibits and photos is a bite-sized version of this, still documenting prehistoric Hong Kong until the 1997 handover.
Type: Permanent exhibition
History Through the Lens: Photographs of Early Hong Kong
The museum’s photo collection shows the urban development of Hong Kong, especially the City of Victoria that included present-day West Point, Sheung Wan, Central and Wan Chai, starting from British takeover in 1842 to the mid-20th century.
Type: Permanent exhibition
Free admission to all permanent exhibitions.
Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb Museum
Lei Cheng Uk Han Tomb, 41 Tonkin St, Sham Shui Po | +852 2386 2863
A branch of the Hong Kong Museum of History, the Han Tomb in Lei Cheng Uk Village was discovered in 1955. Analysis of tomb artifacts and inscriptions pointed to construction during the Eastern Han dynasty. Visitors can look into the interior of the tomb and visit the exhibition hall detailing the history and discovery of the site.
Free admission.
Hong Kong Space Museum
Hong Kong Space Museum, 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui | +852 2721 0226
Hall of the Cosmos
The ground floor of the museum is devoted to showcasing space phenomena like auroras and comets and displaying the birth of our universe through interactive exhibits.
Type: Permanent exhibition
Hall of Space Exploration
The first floor shows the development of space exploration technology. Experience weightlessness, pilot a rocket, and explore a spacecraft.
Type: Permanent exhibition
$10 admission fee for access to all permanent exhibitions.
Hong Kong Science Museum
2 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East | +852 2732 3232
G/F Exhibition Hall
The G/F houses a variety of galleries devoted to biodiversity conservation, highlighting sustainable living, and interactive displays about the scientific principles behind things that make up our physical perception: light, motion, sound.
Type: Permanent exhibition
1/F Exhibition Hall
The first floor’s hall houses a maze of interactive exhibits demonstrating the principles of magnetism and electricity as well as a gallery about how the Earth came to be and what phenomena continue to shape it today.
Type: Permanent exhibition
2/F Exhibition Hall
The second floor’s hall is devoted to matters of daily life, exploring the relationship between food and physical health, home safety, telecommmunication technologies, transportation technologies, and puzzles to test your logical thinking.
Type: Permanent exhibition
3/F Exhibition Hall
The third floor’s hall is specially designed for children to explore and cooperate to learn essential scientific principles behind engineering, weather, and physics.
Type: Permanent exhibition
$20 admission fee for access to all permanent exhibitions.
The Science Behind Pixar
This exhibition developed by Boston’s Museum of Science and Pixar Animation Studios takes you through the process of how artists and computer scientists come together to tell a story through an animated film.
Type: Special exhibition
When: July 30, 2021 – December 1, 2021
Fee: $15-$30
Hong Kong Heritage Museum
Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Man Lam Rd, Sha Tin | +852 2180 8188
Hong Kong Pop 60+
This exhibition shows the development of Hong Kong pop culture, i.e. popular music, film, television, comics, and more from the end of World War II to the early 2000s.
Type: Permanent exhibition
Jin Yong Gallery
Hong Kong journalist Dr. Louis Cha wrote highly influential Chinese martial arts novels in the mid-20th century under the pen name Jin Yong. Explore his creative process, original novel prints, and excerpts from movies and shows adapted from his books.
Type: Permanent exhibition
Children’s Discovery Gallery
This eight zone gallery designed for children touches on nature, archaeology, and old Hong Kong toys and games. Children can roam through the Mai Po marshes and a New Territories village and learn about sea creatures.
Type: Permanent exhibition
Cantonese Opera Heritage Hall
This exhibition features a full reconstruction of a bamboo theatre, multimedia programs, and exhibits of items used by famous Cantonese opera artists.
Type: Permanent exhibition
T.T. Tsui Gallery of Chinese Art
Avid antique collector T.T. Tsui donated over 700 pieces from his private collection, with a range of ceramic items, pottery, and bronze sculptures offering a glimpse into ancient Chinese every day life.
Type: Permanent exhibition
Chao Shao-an Gallery
A selection of paintings and sketches by Professor Chao Shao-an of the Lingnan school of painting.
Type: Permanent exhibition
Free admission to all permanent exhibitions.
The Four Seasons
A selection of 40 paintings by Chao Shao-an revolving around the theme of nature’s four seasons.
Type: Special exhibition
A Glimpse of TSUI’s Collection
A selection of items from T.T. Tsui’s collection, highlighting a painting album by uang Yongyu and the ceramics that served as models for the album, and other outstanding artifacts of eggshell porcelain, jade carvings, and gold collection items.
Type: Special exhibition
Free admission to all special exhibitions.
Sheung Yiu Folk Museum
Sheung Yiu Folk Museum, Pak Tam Chung Nature Trail, Sai Kung | +852 2792 6365
Originally a Hakka village spanning 500 square metres in Sai Kung Country Park, the village and nearby limestone kiln were gazetted as monuments in 1981. The village opened as a branch of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum in 1984.
Free admission.
Hong Kong Maritime Museum
Hong Kong Maritime Museum, Central Pier No. 8, Central | +852 3713 2500
China’s Maritime Heritage
The C Deck details the history of traditional maritime China, Chinese trade, the voyage of Chinese trading junk Keying, piracy, and the development of Victoria Harbour.
Type: Permanent exhibition
Maritime Cultures and HK Stories
The B Deck focuses on China’s maritime modernization, the modernization of Hong Kong’s port, the plight of South Chinese emigrants, water sports, ocean excavations, and a harbour viewing gallery.
Type: Permanent exhibition
Maritime Technology and Science
The A Deck tracks the history of maritime communications, sea navigation, and houses a control deck and bridge simulator.
Type: Permanent exhibition
$30 admission fee to all permanent exhibitions.
Sailor-Made: Manifestations of Nautical Fashion in Hong Kong Culture
This exhibition showcases the history of nautical clothing and its influence on mainstream fashion and pop culture, from school uniforms to cosplay culture.
Type: Special exhibition
When: March 26, 2021 – September 24, 2021
Return! Another Look at “The Dragon and the Eagle” and “The Silver Age”
Introduced when the pandemic was in full swing to support social distancing, the Maritime Museum presents an online exhibition revolving around trading tales and legends of global maritime trade.
Type: Special exhibition
When: From 1 July 2020
East Meets West: Underwater Archaeology and the Ancient Maritime Trade
This exhibition displays underwater archaeological finds chronicling trade along the ancient transcontinental network connecting the East and West, the Maritime Silk Routes.
Type: Special exhibition
When: From October 2019
Humans and the Ocean
The ocean has had a fundamental role in human civilization throughout humanity’s existence, which is reflected in the situating of prehistoric settlements in river valleys.
Type: Special exhibition
When: From May 2019
Free admission to all special exhibitions.
Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum
7 Castle Road, Mid-Levels, Central | +852 3580 6780
Dr Sun Yat-sen and Modern China
Scene setting, photographs, and artifacts reconstruct the life of Dr Sun Yat-sen, the revolutionary that shaped modern China. The exhibition documents his transition from aspiring medical student into a major figure in China’s transformation from a monarchy into a republic.
Type: Permanent exhibition
Hong Kong in Dr Sun Yat-sen’s Time
This exhibition commemorating the life of Dr Sun Yat-sen explors the question, how did late 19th century Hong Kong nurture such a progressive revolutionary figure?
Type: Permanent exhibition
Free admission to all permanent exhibitions.
Hong Kong Film Archive
Hong Kong Film Archive, 50 Lei King Road, Sai Wan Ho | +852 2739 2139
Morning Matinee—Nancy and Michael
A selection of 17 films screened in the morning that were directed by and/or starring Nancy Sit and Michael Lai. Both started as child stars and had prolific film careers.
Type: Film screening
When: June – October 2021
Fee: $30
Treasure-Hunt Stories
A selection of thirty-six classic films that were once thought to be lost will be screened from April to December. Before each screening, an Archive staff will share the story of how the title was acquired.
Type: Film screening
When: April – December 31, 2021
Fee: $45
Archival Gems—Time After Time I
The Archive embarked on a five-year project to digitisation project of 150 celluloid films with either sole copies or prints in poor condition. Some of these are being screened or viewed in digitised form for the first time ever.
Type: Film screening
When: July 2020 – October 2021
Fee: $55
Out of the Past—From the Tai Ping Treasure Trove
Bask in the golden age of Tai Ping Theatre, one of the earliest large theatres in Hong Kong. Once the centre of popular Cantonese opera performances, transitioning to silent films and then sound films, the theatre is a landmark in Hong Kong’s film history. There is also a 360-degree virtual tour here.
Type: Special exhibition
When: May 28 – October 17, 2021
Fee: Free
M+
M+, West Kowloon Cultural District, No. 8 Austin Road West, Kowloon | +852 2200 0217
Hong Kong: Here and Beyond
Divided into four chapters, Here, Identities, Places and Beyond, the exhibition chronicles the Hong Kong’s visual culture transformation from the 1960s to the present.
M+ Sigg Collection: From Revolution to Globalisation
Selections from the M+ Sigg Collection, one of the largest collections of contemporary Chinese art in the world. The exhibition shows the evolution of Chinese art over four decades, from 1972 to 2012.
Things, Spaces, Interactions
This exhibition explores international design and architecture over the last seventy years.
Individuals, Networks, Expressions
An exhibition about post-war international visual art told from the perspective of Asia.
Antony Gormley: Asian Field
An installation of tens of thousands of clay figurines created by British sculptor Antony Gormley together with around 300 villagers from a Guangdong village in five days, reflecting the country’s vast territory and population.
The Dream of the Museum
An exhibition showing a global constellation of conceptual art practices.
Free admission to all permanent exhibitions.
Photo credits: Header image HKMOA by Arch Daily, in-article HKMoA by Lauren Long for Art Asia Pacific, Hong Kong Space Museum by Royal Park Hotel, M+ by West Kowloon Cultural District
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