The Murray House may look a bit odd in Stanley- a classical building jutting out to the sea like a…read moresore thumb- that's because the building wasn't here in the first place. The building was used as HQ for the joint forces back in the colonial days and it used to sit at where the Bank of China building in Admiralty is now. Thank god they had the good sense back then but they made the effort to dismantle the building brick by brick and it was put back to together here. When you go in now you can still imagine what it must have been like walking through the corridors back in the day- the guys must have done a bloody good job when taking it apart because I can't see major flaws with it now. It is now a 3 level building of wine and dine as well as a museum down on ground floor. The Museum is a maritime museum of Hong Kong though I haven't gone in there myself to know how good is/isn't. Upstairs though is where most people go. There are a number of restaurants, King Ludwig, Wildfire have been here as soon as it opened and they continue to be extremely busy today. You will find that it will take a lot of patience to get a table here but it is certainly worth the wait. You will see a lot of couples taking their wedding photos here; that's because there aren't a lot of classical buildings left in HK and this is a reminder to tell us how important preservation is.

Contemporary urban art may not be everybody's cup of tea. Most of the time, it goes right over my…read morehead but every now and then, I would get an inkling of the artist's message. What I find interesting about Oi! is that it is not your conventional art gallery. Oi! is not big. It sits on the corner of Oil Street and Electric Road in Fortress Hill on the island. A century ago, the waterfront was right outside this property. It was logical for the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club to set up base here and operate until the government took over thirty years later in the 1930s. The historic brick buildings are specimens of the post-Victorian Arts and Crafts Architectural Movement. On the day of my visit, the theme was to stimulate our audio, visual, and tactile senses. The artists encouraged people to actually touch their creations. I like when art can be approached from more than one dimension. There was one exhibition room that was stark empty except for a porthole in the floor; and another one in which I had to duck my head because a block TV set was hanging from the ceiling. I also got to interact with other eclectic and obscure art pieces. Unexpectedly, the co-op kitchen was offering visitors complimentary miso soup on site. I guess if wine and hors d'oeuvres are served at the traditional art openings, why not offer hot soup at Oi! The idea was "they cook, you clean" so people had to do the little chore of washing the bowls they had used. I thought that was pretty neat. Everything was cool. Before heading out, I decided to use the restroom. I really wish I hadn't. They were either understaffed or negligent to have left the facility in a ghastly state. It might have been the visitors. What a shame to end my visit this way. For me, Oi! was an experience. I enjoyed the history aspect. I didn't have a full grasp of the pieces I saw but art is subjective. New exhibits rotate in periodically. Maybe next time I'll make a connection with one of them. 3.5

As we were simply walking by, I knew that this was clearly an old set of buildings that had been…read morerestored, but I was not sure what this space was exactly. With the kind staff at the customer service booth that went the extra mile to show me key parts of the facility and pointed out the specifics of the art installation spaces and the Social Gastronomy experiment space, I think I am a bit of a fan of this place. Once an old boat yard and covered mostly by water, this is a perfect example of Hong Kong recycling, reusing and re-purposing public building space. Part museum (with two installations currently: North Point Dream Properties Limited and 7-Paperholic), part social experiment on food with XCHANGE (turning leftovers and seasonal ingredients from participants and neighborhood markets into mouthwatering dishes), part community service/social hub (with talks, lectures, workshops, etc), part historical venue (Oi! is a Grade 2 Historic Building and they provide daily tours at 2:30pm, 4:45pm and 6:30pm daily). Art is really the driving factor for me with Oi!, but clearly their aim is really to connect with the community on a socially conscious level much greater than just art. But if you are not driven by social matters, note that admission to Oi! is free. The space is not large, but there is intellectually a lot going on to absorb at Oi! Although I did not have time to really understand all pieces of this space, I took a Oi! newspaper to go and have visited their website to sign up for news and events going on here. I will absolutely return to discover a bit more.

I've been here to walk around and look at the shops and also for a few events. This is mostly a…read morereview for the place as an event venue. It's a lovely old building from the outside and a great space to have an event. Opens up unexpectedly, with a stage and setup that feels bigger than most places in Hong Kong. I've been to a YoungLife fundraiser and the Got Balls circus themed bingo night and both were well set up with mini bars on the side and sound and lights and all that. I'd love to learn more of the history and culture that is found in the fabric stalls during the day time.

Western Market opens at 10AM. I proceeded with the Walking Tour around Sheung Wan starting off with…read morethe nearby Cafes to grab a breakfast. Inside the 1600 old building, we see textile and fabric stalls reflective of Hong Kong's culture and history.

I am a museum rat, so I seek stuff like this out on purpose, not by chance…read more I was not expecting much during my visit to the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre (HKHDC), but man was I blown away with the place. Not only located inside the beautiful Kowloon Park, this place is another free museum in a sea of inexpensive museum options around Hong Kong. So the first half of this exhibition is indeed a lot of things that are historically relevant to Hong Kong and Kowloon from over a span of 6,000 years, but just not interesting to me (pieces of broken plates, shattered cups, shards of utensils...all hundreds, if not thousands of years old). But in addition to the featured exhibition of Heritage Fiesta 2015 highlighting declared monuments and grades 1-3 historic buildings, there is a great permanent exhibition about the chinese, western and modern architecture and buildings of the area. Through old videos, oral interviews, research, photographs, you get a complete feel of the rich character and historical value of the buildings all around us. Not only does it showcase these buildings, it emphasizes excavation, conservation and knowledge throughout the HKHDC. Reuse and repurpose. I enjoyed hearing about the extensive conservation efforts to preserve the history of Hong Kong through its architecture and buildings where it can. The HKHDC is well done, current, up to date and seems fresh (versus some museums that can feel very dated). It is not so large that you could not buzz through in less than an hour, but there is extensive information and you could take it all in and visit much longer. There is a little vending machine spot, but no cafe on sight. The courtyard is lovely late in the day and worthy of a sit to take a breather and relax if you have the time.

My husband and I walked around Kowloon Park and then came upon the Heritage Discovery Centre. It…read morewas free and we were curious so we wandered around inside. One exhibit had just closed but the rest of the centre was open. It is amazing how much history Hong Kong has preserved. Looking at artifacts from thousands of years ago really shows how innovative humans were even then. One section showed how much the skyline of Kowloon and Hong Kong had changed over the past 60 or so years; it was drastic and fascinating. But my favorite part was the room with the glass floor feature thousands of piece of broken pottery. It is a must see! Overall, the centre is a nice (cheap) place to browse around and learn a bit about Hong Kong's history if you have an extra hour in your day.

I would not go out of your way to come to this museum. I say this because it is tiny, takes about…read more20-30 minutes to get the 100% full experience and is only one niche of Hong Kong history. But with that being said, if you are in the area, this tiny museum space seems renovated with fresh paint, slick with interesting reading installations and is clean and pretty interesting. So if you do find yourself in the area, take a few minutes to pop in to this free museum. In short, during the expansive growth of Hong Kong to the north many moons ago, during construction, a tomb was unearthed and discovered. The tomb did not contain human remains, but it contains all sorts of interesting things dating back a few thousand years. Artifacts, pottery and the tomb itself was preserved in a mound that is sheltered right there among the public park and the urban growth. It is not a big tomb, but kind of cool that Hong Kong kept it preserved for future generations. There is a nice public park attached directly behind the tomb itself.

While wandering around Wan Chai, I came across the Blue House and the Hong Kong House of Stories…read more The Hong Kong House of Stories (香港故事館) is a tiny museum that is packed with nostalgic old items from Hong Kong's past, giving you a quick glimpse into the city's history and how much it has changed over the years. The space is small, so it doesn't take long to explore, but it was fun to poke around the exhibits and appreciate the effort that went into curating them. I also liked that there were some handmade souvenirs that I could pick up! It was a charming and worthwhile stop, especially if you're in the area already.

This is an old restored building with a little shop in the bottom floor. The shop keeper tells the…read morestory of the history of the building, which was cool to hear, as well as sells different handmade items from the shop (technically they are for donation). The shop also has other strange and curious things to browse through.

I've visited this exhibit twice in my life now (more than a decade apart) and would go back with…read moreothers who want to learn more about Dr. Sun Yat Sen. The location is sort of difficult to reach as it is high up the hill especially if you have mobility issues or other restrictions that prevent walking easily. There is basically no other way to get here but by foot (of course after being either dropped off by taxi nearby or from the MTR Station at Central). The location used to be a mansion owned by a dear friend of Dr. Sun Yat Sen but had been bought and renovated to be a place of history dedicated to and in the memory of the father of China. The exhibit is staffed well by very knowledgeable personnel who are able to answer any questions you may have during your self-guided tour. The building spans a few floors and there is an elevator inside as well as the stairs so you can explore at your own pace. It is well air-conditioned and there is so much to learn about Dr. Sun Yat Sen's life from his very beginning as a child to how he became a doctor and a political leader, and to his death. If you're a history buff, I think it is a well-rounded and enjoyable experience. There is a video room that takes roughly 20 minutes to watch and has a handful of seats which is great to take a rest at before heading back on the streets. There are also well-maintained restrooms on the ground floor. Best of all, this remains free to the public. No photo or video is allowed inside the property.

The museum in my opinion was "so-so" as it pertains to the historical information and installation…read moreregarding Dr. Sun Yat-Sen. Mostly photographs and informational displays with stories and words (probably not as good as other museum installations I have seen on Dr. Sun Yat-Sen in Taiwan or elsewhere), plus a few items of clothing, a short video and such. The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen installation is on the top floor. The restored building dating back to 1914 that houses the museum was really quite special. I am glad when I see Hong Kong or private entity saves historic buildings like this. It is a former residence that is a blend of Chinese and Western architectural styles. They show a 10 minute video on the restoration that was involved. It really is a beautiful building and for $10HKD, worth a pop into see.

Hong Kong Arts Center (HKAC), non-profit, performing arts, independent films…read more HKAC is one of my favorite arts organization in Hong Kong. This arts Center provides different kinds of arts performances, like sculpture and photography exhibition, visual arts, and performing arts. Tou can see all these arts performance or exhibition in those presentation spaces and venues. I also watch lots of independent films here, like some documentary and young directors' first work. I am impressed by the seats in agnès b. CINEMA. This cinema is not that big, but the interesting thing is you can see lots of names on the back of the seats. It is because, it is a funding scheme called "Name a Chair", seeking support for the renovation and equipment update of the cinema.It is a 5-year chair naming scheme.If you have money and want to give some support, then you can consider to join this project. It will be big deal! haha

I am not sure whether you have heard of this but not long ago, Hong Kong was once criticized as a…read morecultural desert. Though some still believe it is as teenagers are encouraged to study Business and are discouraged if they pursue Arts related studies. Regardless, Hong Kong does provide quite a few opportunities for those who are passionate about arts and culture. (It is the mentality of the mass that is difficult to change). The Hong Kong Arts Centre (HKAC) is located at Wanchai which promotes contemporary arts, visual arts, or arts education. Because of the convenient location, there are quite a lot of students coming here after school to learn musical instruments or read some books here. Once you walk in, you may see quite a lot of artworks on display at the Jockey Club Atrium. Apart from that, below the ground floor you may also find studios (The McAulay Studio for example), theatres (agnès b. Cinema) and offices owned by international or local art organizations. The tower is consisted of fifteen floors and there are galleries, restaurats, a language centre or even a cinema. The best part of this place is the Pao Galleries where it hosts year-round art exhibitions. Over the years, it has held quite a number of programmes including the Art Walk every year. With the opening of Art Basel earlier this year, I can guarantee you that Hong Kong soon will not be called as a desert for arts and culture. If you would like to know more about this place, the arts on display or even the programmes, you may also join the guided tour (both English and Chinese), the tour lasts around an hour and it is completely free of charge. This is definitely a better choice than spending your time in a café. So next time if you are nearby, how about indulging yourself with art and fine dining here?