MUSEUMS TO VISIT IN HONG KONG

One way that you can get to know a country, district, or city's culture or heritage better is by visiting Museums and exploring their galleries and exhibits. This way, you get knowledge of the history and the background of the place you are visiting. Most places have Museums ranging from Arts, Science, History, Heritage, Marine, and Railways to even Palace Museums and contemporary art museums.  There are large-scale museums in stand-alone buildings, and there are also open-air museums, in which the buildings are pretty scattered around.  

LCSD Museums

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government runs 15 museums and 2 other cultural spaces, each one unique in its focus. Broadly, these museums cover art, history, and science. Our vision is to offer inspiring experiences to be enjoyed by all. Museums collect, conserve, and exhibit collections for the purpose of education and providing uplifting and enlightening experiences. We also conduct extensive research to discover a composite picture of our culture, history, and heritage. Preserving these endowments represents a vital long-term commitment to current and future generations. All of the LCSD Museums of free of Admission on Wednesdays, so plan your visit accordingly. If you plan on Attending multiple LCSD Museums, consider getting this LCSD Museums Pass. \

List of LCSD Museums to Visit

Hong Kong Film Archive-Sai Wan Ho

The permanent home of the Archive, located on the waterfront of Sai Wan Ho, Hong Kong Island East, was completed and inaugurated for public use in January 2001. The building is five floors high, with a total surface area of 7,200 square meters. Facilities include a mini-cinema, an exhibition hall, a resource center, collection vaults, and restoration laboratories.  The Archive obtains its materials mainly through donations. Materials collected are filed and indexed before they are made for public access. 

Hong Kong Art Museum-Tsim Sha Tsui

Established in 1962, HKMoA is the first public art museum in the city, now custodian of an art collection of over 18,800 items, representing the unique cultural legacy of Hong Kong's connection across the globe. By curating a wide world of contrasts, from old to new, Chinese to Western, local to international, with a Hong Kong viewpoint, we aspire to refreshing ways of looking at tradition and making art relevant to everyone, creating new experiences and understanding.

Hong Kong Museum of History-Tsim Sha Tsui

The Hong Kong Museum of History originated in the City Hall Art Gallery and Museum. It was founded in 1962 and was renamed the City Museum and Art Gallery in 1969. In 1975, it was split into the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Hong Kong Museum of History. The latter was initially housed in rented premises in Star House, Tsim Sha Tsui. In 1983, it was relocated to a temporary site in Kowloon Park, and in 1998, it was moved to its present premises on Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui.

Hong Kong Science Museum-Tsim Sha Tsui

The Hong Kong Science Museum aims to provide an enjoyable learning experience for people of all ages and walks of life. We inspire visitors with engaging interactive exhibits that allow them to explore the fun of science. Our galleries cover diverse areas of science: an electrifying Electricity and Magnetism Gallery, a ground-shaking Earth Science Gallery, a lively Biodiversity Gallery, an inspiring Jockey Club Environmental Conservation Gallery, and a joyful Children's Gallery, to name a few.

Hong Kong Space Museum- Tsim Sha Tsui

Strategically located at the seaside of Tsim Sha Tsui, the Hong Kong Space Museum commenced its construction in 1977. Mr. Joseph Ming Gun LEE of the Public Works Department was the chief architect of the project. Hong Kong Space Museum was commissioned in October 1980. It is the first local planetarium for the popularisation of astronomy and space science. The unique egg-shaped dome renders the 8000-square-metre museum to be one of the most famous landmarks in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Marine Museum- Central

Showcasing the wonderfully rich maritime history of the former fishing island that is Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Maritime Museum is dedicated to preserving, collecting, and displaying objects that illustrate the city's development in seafaring and stories about trade and maritime in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta. The Harbourfront Museum puts on rotating exhibitions that highlight everything from marine conservation to the history of sea bandits and old wrecked ships. 

Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defense-Shau Kei Wan

Converted from the old Lyemun Fort, the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence is a military museum. It is located on a headland overlooking Lyemun Pass. The Museum reopens to the public after a major revamp. Multimedia elements, innovative presentation methods, and a thematic approach are injected into the revamped permanent exhibition and the historical trail of the museum to narrate the unique story of Hong Kong's coastal defense. 

Hong Kong Heritage Museum-Sha Tin

The largest museum in the city, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum is also unique in its location situated beside the Shing Mun River. Specializing in history, art, and culture such as Cantonese Opera and traditional Chinese art, the Sha Tin Museum houses an array of permanent exhibition galleries including an old toy display. There are also regular themed exhibitions ranging from Pixar to contemporary posters. 

Other LCSD Museums

Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware- Central

Law Uk Folk Museum- Chai Wan

Heritage of Mei Ho House-Sham Shui Po

Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery-Quarry Bay

Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum- Central

West Kowloon Cultural District Museums

Besides the LCSD museums, there are two new museums built in West Kowloon that are worth visiting; the Hong Kong Palace Museum and the M+ Museum. These two museums are part of the new West Kowloon Cultural District, which has become one of the most popular districts to visit now in Hong Kong. 

M+

The M+ building in the West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary visual culture in the world. Located at the southernmost edge of Kowloon overlooking Victoria Harbour, it is among Hong Kong’s most iconic landmarks, both monumental in its architectural form and radically open in its position in the urban landscape. M+ is a museum dedicated to collecting, exhibiting, and interpreting visual art, design and architecture, moving image, and Hong Kong visual culture of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District, it is one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary visual culture in the world, with a bold ambition to establish ourselves as one of the world’s leading cultural institutions. M+ is a new kind of museum that reflects our unique time and place, a museum that builds on Hong Kong’s historic balance of the local and the international to define a distinctive and innovative voice for Asia’s twenty-first century. Use this link to get your tickets to M+.

Hong Kong Palace Museum

The Hong Kong Palace Museum occupies some 13,000 square meters with a total floor area of about 30,000 square meters and exhibition space of 7,800 square meters. The Hong Kong Palace Museum is located at the western tip of the West Kowloon Cultural District where it looks out over sweeping views of Hong Kong’s iconic Victoria Harbour. The museum has 9 exhibits, including 7 general galleries and 2 special exhibits. The Hong Kong Palace Museum aspires to become one of the world’s leading cultural institutions committed to the study and appreciation of Chinese art and culture while advancing dialogue among world civilizations through international partnerships. The Museum is a collaborative project between the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and the Palace Museum, which is funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust with a donation of HK$3.5 billion for its establishment, as well as some of the annual exhibitions and education programs in 2023-2031. Use my link to get tickets to the Hong Kong Palace Museum. 

Conclusion

I get that museums aren't for everyone but if you had to choose a museum to visit, it would have to be the two in West Kowloon because not only is the building design interesting, but the exhibits and galleries are unique and isn't what you might usually see when you visit a museum in an Asian Country. If you decide you don't want to spend money on museums, visit any of the LCSD museums on Wednesday. Museums are a great way to get to know a city's history and are the best thing to do on rainy days.