The amazing new Hong Kong Story is impressive in scope and quality. It is not to be missed. It's…read moretotally updated display spans around 6,000 years across 10 galleries and includes more than 2,800 exhibits, combining artefacts with historic photos, videos and interactive multimedia. Plan three hours to cover it quickly. The kids will love the interactive displays, including recreated environments like tea houses, an old pharmacy and diner. It is hard to explain the scope of the exhibits. Like all museums anywhere in the world, it looks through the lens of modern times. Do not miss this one. And it is free.

What a great experience, I hey have done this well! The exhibitions are modern and engaging. The…read morestaff are courteous and friendly. You can spend hours here learning about all the history.

I've been to 3D museum in Bangkok and it was so much fun, so when I learned that there's one in…read moreHong Kong I just have to visit!! I was warned that this place is small, so I know not to expect the two storey high gigantic backdrops I've seen before. The museum is actually not as tiny as I expected, but the backdrops are really small. They should find a building with taller space, and expand the drawings a few feet each way. Right now you have to be very careful not to include the outside area and the spot lights in your photos. Also, the low ceiling means that the light makes the seams between floor and walls more obvious. Another disappointment I have is that there are only a few scenes that are Hong Kong related. Otherwise it's over 90% related to One Piece. For people who are not anime fans, this just isn't very interesting. They seem to change their artworks regularly, many of the photos I saw in the reviews are no longer around. Nonetheless, we still have fun, and there is a nice guy who goes around showing us how to pose (he also snap pictures which hopefully you'll buy from him but there isn't much pressure.) Some scenes posted a sample pics to give you an idea how to post but unfortunately a lot of them don't have one and left us rather clueless as to where we are supposed to stand. The 4 stars here is a bit generous but I do want this place to succeed and improve and see similar businesses opening up. You do need to have friends to go with you. And better some friend who's a perfectionist, instead of just pressing the shutter, to advise you where to stand, how to pose, and don't mind stepping around a bit to get at the perfect angle for the best effect. Useful tips: - they have lockers available but charge for it. - wear jeans/shorts but not dresses and skirts which are less gravity defying. - if you go on your birthday with a friend, it's $149 for two instead of $128 each.

Ahh so fun!!! Came here with my dad because he was the best at taking pics (girl gotta get that…read moreinsta pic right??) and surprisingly, we both had a great time!! They changed some of their pictures when I went (for example there wasn't a water wing) but it was still a great experience. They have different sections such as an area for One Piece and another one for HK lifestyle. There's an area where the place gets a bit crowded but I didn't care much for those backdrops so I just skipped ahead. We made two rounds around the place before leaving and it wasn't overwhelmingly long :) Came on a Saturday afternoon too! But...a huge crowd came in right after we left so thank god we left!

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.

My second review in Hong Kong happens to be another establishment concerning history through the…read moreeyes of artists, this time with an emphasis on music, film, and literature. If you are familiar with any of Hong Kong's offerings over the years, a visit to the Hong Kong Heritage Museum is a must. To get there, ride the MTR to Che Kung Temple station and take Exit A. It was a rainy weekday in mid-May when I visited. Clear signages showed the path towards the museum, a large, somewhat imposing orange and red-bricked building. The exhibit I wanted to check out first was "Timeless Diva - Anita Mui" which showcased a collection of records from the famed songstress, a number of which were autographed. Other items on display included a selection of her concert outfits, magazine covers, and a rotation of video clips showing her singing prowess, quick-witted banter, and diverse acting chops. At one point, an announcement was made for the opportunity to watch a documentary on Sam Hui. It turned out to be a delightful, self-narrated autobiography of the man's childhood days playing around Diamond Hill, the Hui brother's comedic endeavors, and the inner workings of his mind when composing songs. Did you know the opening of "半斤八兩" was inspired by Eagles' "One of These Nights"? After the movie, the large exhibition of music and film was next door. One recorded conversation on display worth mentioning was a talk regarding the current state of Hong Kong pop compared to that of K-pop, our current generation's obsession. As for the other parts of the museum, the "Jin Yong Gallery" consisted of all the wuxia author's literary works readily available to pick up and read as well as beautiful illustrations of the characters. Naturally, Bruce Lee's exhibit was magnetic and powerful, which included personal photographs throughout his life as well as his teachings. There was also an emphasis on 3D models of his likeness for an immersive experience. Didn't really impress me too much, but I did appreciate the intent. There was a lot to explore and plenty I probably missed by lingering too long on select areas. I spent a whole afternoon here and would gladly do it again.

If you're into pop culture, this is the museum to visit!! Honestly HK has so many museums, each…read morewith its own flavor, but this museum features topics/themes that people are more familiar with such as HK's entertainment industry history, Bruce Lee, Jin Yong's popular martial art stories, Cantonese opera, and others. As a museum nerd, I was drawn by a visiting exhibition on ancient Chinese women and their daily life (as most history records focus on men). Although tucked in the northern New Territories in Sha Tin area, this museum is actually accessible by 3 different MTR stations and other minibus/buses. It was actually so much bigger than I thought! Loved how everything had great descriptions (in both Chinese and English). Tickets are pretty cheap and definitely worth it because I could easily spend 2-3 hours here!

This is a very interesting museum on Hong Kong food culture. I recommend this to anyone who is…read morevisiting Hong Kong or even locals who want to relive their collective memories and learn more about old Hong Kong food culture. To visit the museum, you must register on their website. Each session lasts for 1 hour and 15 minutes. On the website, it says there is a guided tour but in fact the guided tour was only 15 minutes long. There is an 8-min long 3D video talking about the history and development of Tao Heung Group. I wasn't too impressed by the video but the short commentary by the guide was very interesting and you could learn a lot of things about local food culture. I just wish the commentary was longer and that they provided English version so that I could recommend to my non-Cantonese speaker friends. I like how they have setups of a Dai Pai Dong, a street hawker stall and the old school style Chinese tea house where you can take many pictures. They also have exhibits of old furniture and machines donated by restaurants that have shut down. Wanna know how much it costed to have a meal at The Peninsula in the 60s? They have the menu from back then! I'll leave it here for you to explore on your own. It's not a big museum but definitely worth a visit. It's just about a 5-min walk from the Fo Tan station.

An outstanding historical and culinary experience in Hong Kong!!! If you have some history here and…read moreenjoy seeing it presented well - you've got to drop in here. The museum is very well done and the coffee shop is one of the best I've visit in all of HK!!!!

I have to admitted... I loved this museum. I went to the museum with my 4 year old and we had a…read moreblast! We spent over 3 hours having fun. We went on a Thursday morning and there was a large group of school kids touring the museum. They were very organized and polite. We did not mind, we appreciated the interaction with other kids. The museum has multiple floors and manny exhibits. Some of our favorites was the electricity exhibit, telecommunications and home technology. However, the 3 floor exhibit is specially built for young children. They have a large construction site role play where kids build houses or buildings.They use foam walls and pretend cranes. It has a capacity of 25 kids and they limit the amount of time each kid spends playing in this exhibit; rewardless, this was my daughters' favorite exhibit. Do not miss this museum specially if you have children, they will love it. If you go on Wednesdays, cover charge is free.

If I were a child, I'd gladly come here. But alas, I am not…read more Being an adult doesn't allow you to play with the attractions due to the amount of children in the vicinity. It's neat to learn about things when you read them and interact with them, but there are just way too many children running around and pushing for a turn at a driving simulator. You would think the Science museum would be much more fun than the History museum, but I guess being an adult changes your mind set. Other than that, it's neat to walk through at least. There's a "World or Mirrors" which encompasses a bunch of mirrors and some illusions, there are some photos of Hong Kong, simulators, and other neat science experiment-like stuff. Come on Wednesdays for free!

A very much underrated museum…read more Railway has been an integral part of the life of a lot of people, especially on the Kowloon side. Despite the fact that the original KCR (Kowloon-Canto Railway) served less people and had less stations than her little brother underground, they certainly had a much longer and richer history (KCR started operating since 1910, MTR started operating since 1979), and this place is a perfect spot for showcasing a snippet of it. The museum was the original Tai Po Market Station, as you could see the main part of the station entrance was preserved. It somehow shows the significant of the old stations, as there are only four stations in the whole KCR system that haven't changed their the locations nor names in the last 100 years. One of the other notable change was the Kowloon station, which was originally located at the Clock Tower you can see now in TST. Now other than walking on the railway and pretending you are in Taiwan, you can also hop on to some of the old, discommissioned trains. Some were meant to be coal-powered, and some were meant to be diesel-powered (me think). I do remember that when I was young (like VERY young, okay?), KCR replaced all the trains to be powered by electricity. But I was so confused (remember? I was young!) why the hell you'd like to have 電器化火車 (as in, "household appliance-ified" trains) which it actually meant 電氣化火車 (railway electrification system). Oh boy. I could totally imagine my kids would ask why do we even call it 火車 (like, "fire car"). Anyway, you are free to take pictures here, exceptional for events, commercial purpose, or wedding. I'm sure the "wedding" part was added later on as it was a overly popular place to take wedding pictures, and people practically affect the normal operation of the museum.

The Hong Kong Railway Museum is the site of the original Tai Po Market Station, built in 1913…read more When the Kowloon-Canton Railway (KCR) went from 'choo choo' to 'swoosh' in 1983, Tai Wo and Tai Po Market station opened up to the north and south of this site, thus making it redundant as a working station. (Historical note: the KCR went 'doot doot' in 1997.) Now, the site is for people like me who love a bit of history, and who love their locomotive 'choo choo' trains. And it's all free! To be honest, the site looks a little fake because everything is restored in its full, vibrant colour, including the entrance of the station which is designed with the Chinese temple architecture. I guess I prefer a little more of the 'crumbling walls and cobwebs' history, but it was good fun walking down the old railway tracks in the open-air. The exhibition room has examples of train tickets and models of the KCR train, including a ticket office that has been restored and refurnished so you can see how it all was back in the day. It won't take you more than an hour to get around the whole museum. It does seem a bit strange that this relatively untouched piece of railway history is rather isolated from other tourist attractions, so I'm not sure how one could make a day of it. Being right next to a hectic local Tai Po street market, you could do a little food market shopping after, I guess? Or you could walk another 15 minutes to Man Mo Temple (in Tai Po). I guess Tai Po in itself is full of other less-touristy stuff to do, but if you're around the area, this little gem might be worth checking out.

During Art Basel 2016, I discovered Asia Art Archive (AAA). Art is not my vocation, but my…read moreobsession. I enjoy seeking it out, discovering it, researching it, reading it, observing it, living it. With the lack of great contemporary museums in Hong Kong outside the gallery environment, I knew Asia Art Archive would be interesting to me, I just wanted to see it and understand what it was all about. AAA is an independent non-profit organization initiated in 2000 in response to the urgent need to document and make accessible the multiple recent histories of art in the region. They seek to preserve the history of art in the region? A big undertaking. And they are not a museum that the general public more easily "gets", an even bigger undertaking. When I arrived, you have to ring the doorbell and somebody will buzz you in. You can stow your stuff if need be in a locker (no cost) right at the door. Someone welcomed me, had me register my contact info on their I-Pad and then I was given the nickle tour of their space. WOW! It is like a tiny resource room bursting at the seams, but horrendously organized, neat and full of light you would expect to find in the back sections of the MOMA NYC. From places, to people, to events...they are archiving all elements of art and art history of the region via curatorial studies, reference materials, books, magazines, biennial catalogs, museum catalogs, film, etc. In print form and in their on-line archive you can access from home, you will find information on Ai Wei Wei to Indian art, from sculpture to international pop, from gallery guides to journals on contemporary art, from books from the Guggenheim to On Kawara, from all hard copy Art Forum magazines from Jan 06 to now to all Art China magazines fom May 07 until now. Very organized, bursting at the seams and all tucked up on the 11th floor of a building in Sheung Wan. Open to the public and at no cost to stop in. Some stuff in Chinese only and most items in English. Be quiet though...it is a contemplative, study space. They had a small installation up as well by the artist Shilpa Gupta titled "That photo we never got." AAA has outgrown their space and funds are limited. I was advised this is their second home since AAA started. They are limited on staff to transcribe materials into English. Although a well run operation and a great interest in their cause, like many non-profits, limited funds often shape outcomes. Posted near their front door there is a silver sign showing their donors. A great homage to the saying that you never know what a small group of like minding people can accomplish when they put their minds...and their wallets..to something. I think AAA is amazing and although I am not an art student writing a paper, nor a MFA student working on my thesis or even a gallerist doing some research, this space is the best I have found to having that feeling of being surrounded by great contemporary art since moving to Hong Kong in 2015. This place surrounds me in great art in the form of the print materials. I will be back often and simply enjoy the space, contemplate, study and explore.

This is quite a unique space in such a bustling city. This pet friendly shopping center has…read morerestaurants, souvenirs shops, pet supply stores, and other small retailers. The Mills was an escape from the giant centers with name brand stores. This place was transformed from what was the old textile factory. It even has a textile museum that's free of charge! However, it is a bit hard to find but it's definitely a must see if you visit this place. We also loved the play space on the 4th floor which charges by the hour. The place was pretty empty on a Thursday which was a nice escape from the crowds. Only downside is there weren't a lot of shops to walk through.

Love how HK has all these restored/remodeled historic buildings that are now turned into super…read moreartsy places! Formerly a textile factory, the Mills is no other and houses many little cute shops, galleries, and I believe a museum/exhibition type place. It was about a 20 min walk from the MTR. I loved the overall vibes and aesthetics (aka great for cute pics) but the stores were definitely a little pricer. It definitely reminded me of PMQ or the newer Central Market but felt that the signs were not as clear than the others. Would recommend if you are into arts, looking for a specific gift for someone, or just exploring new places to go!