Cultural Life

Hong Kong has a rich cultural life which embraces the arts and traditions of both East and West. Wide-ranging productions and facilities are offered by the Government and various organisations, presenting entertainment and cultural activities.

Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) Cultural Performance Venues

The superlative Hong Kong Cultural Centre, set on a magnificent site overlooking the world-famous Victoria Harbour, was opened in 1989. As the premier arts centre in Hong Kong, the Cultural Centre is a prime venue for international festivals, world-renowned artists and local performing companies. It has a Concert Hall (2 019 seats), Grand Theatre (1 734 seats) and Studio Theatre (303 - 496 seats). In 2008 / 09, about 762 000 people attended a total of 806 performances there.

Opened in 1962, the City Hall has since become a popular venue for cultural activities. It has a 1 434-seat Concert Hall and a 463-seat Theatre. In 2008 / 09, a total of 695 performances were held at the City Hall, attracting some 407 000 visitors.

The 12 500-seat Hong Kong Coliseum regularly hosts concerts by Canto-pop stars. It and the 3 500-seat Queen Elizabeth Stadium are among the best-equipped multi-purpose indoor venues in Asia.

The Department also has Civic Centres and Town Halls throughout Hong Kong. These facilities serve as focal points for cultural activities at the community level.

LCSD Museums

The Department's four main museums are within walking distance of one another in Tsim Sha Tsui. They are the Museums of Art and History, the Space Museum and the Science Museum. The Hong Kong Museum of Art mainly displays Chinese fine art and antiquities, contemporary art and historical paintings. It has already adopted the world's first bilingual collection management system to process all record of its collections. Public access to view its treasures of paintings and other art objects is now possible through the internet and computer terminals in the Museum. Its branch in Hong Kong Park, the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware, has a magnificent collection of Chinese tea ware donated by the late collector Dr. K. S. Lo. Also in Hong Kong Park at the Hong Kong Visual Arts Centre is the Arts Promotion Office which was established in 2001 to promote visual arts outside museums.

The Hong Kong Museum of History is located in Chatham Road South, Tsim Sha Tsui East occupying an area of 17 500 sq meters. Its permanent exhibition, "The Hong Kong Story" comprises 8 galleries located on 2 floors and outlines the natural environment, folk culture and historical development of Hong Kong in a vivid manner. The Lei Cheng Uk Branch Museum preserves a Han Dynasty tomb. At Chai Wan is the Law Uk Folk Museum, converted from a 200-year-old Hakka village house and displaying rural furniture and farming implements. The Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence located at Shau Kei Wan was converted from the most formidable fortifications in the territory built more than 100 years ago. It presents artifacts and relics on Hong Kong's history of coastal defence. The Dr Sun Yat-sen Museum and the Fireboat Alexander Grantham Exhibition Gallery were opened in December 2006 and September 2007 respectively.

The Hong Kong Space Museum provides a wide range of educational and entertaining programmes on astronomy and space science. It has two exhibition halls with various interactive exhibits, a Space Theatre and a lecture hall which can accommodate 270 and 193 visitors respectively. The newly renovated Space Theatre is equipped with a state-of-the-art digital planetarium projector,, an OMNIMAX film projector and seatings with multi-language options and interactive functions.

The Hong Kong Science Museum, holds exhibitions dealing with physical and life science, occupational safety and health, computers, communications, transport, energy, food science and home technology. There are more than 500 exhibits including a 22-metre high Energy Machine, a DC-3 airliner and a set of Lufengosaurus fossils. Over 70% of the exhibits are interactive. Another feature is the Science News Corner, located on the second floor, which regularly showcases science research projects of local universities and latest science discoveries. The Hong Kong Heritage Museum, located in Sha Tin, was opened to the public in December 2000. With a gross floor area of 32 000 square meters, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum is the largest of all museums in Hong Kong. It houses 12 galleries among which the Children's Discovery Gallery is the first of its kind in Hong Kong. It features the multifacets of local culture through a variety of exhibition themes ranging from the heritage of the New Territories, Cantonese opera, to contemporary art, design and popular culture. In collaboration with overseas museums and cultural institutions, the Hong Kong Heritage Museum also organizes exhibitions to showcase the culture and heritage of the non-locals. Sheung Yiu Folk Museum is situated at a scenic spot at Pak Tam Chung in Sai Kung. It is housed in a Hakka village built in the late 19th century. The village, together with a nearby lime kiln, was gazetted as a monument in 1981.

The open-air Hong Kong Railway Museum is located at the town centre of Tai Po Market. It comprises the old Tai Po Market Railway Station building, six historical coaches, a mock-up of an electric train and an office block. The station building featuring a unique Chinese style was built in 1913.

Sam Tung Uk Museum, located in Tsuen Wan, was originally a Hakka walled village built in 1786. The museum has become a world-recognised restoration project after winning the Pacific Heritage Award from the Pacific Asia Tourist Association. It is the largest museum of its kind in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Film Archive, covering a floor area of 7 200 sq meters at its site on the Sai Wan Ho reclamation, holds some 8 000 films and 890 000 items of related materials. Its major functions are to acquire, preserve, catalogue and document Hong Kong films and related materials. It has a cinema with a 125 seating capacity, a 200-square-meter gallery, film conservation laboratories and a fully computerized resource centre.

Music Office

To promote general music education, the Music Office, under the auspices of the LCSD, runs three training programmes: Instrumental Music Training Scheme, Ensemble Training, and Outreach Music Interest Courses, which together provide music training to more than 8 000 trainees each year. In addition, it organises international music exchange programmes for youth, the Hong Kong Youth Music Camp, youth music interflows and a variety of music promotional activities for about 170 000 participants each year. Its target groups range from primary and secondary school students to members of the public from all walks of life.

Cultural Festivals and Cultural Presentations

Held annually in February and March, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, organised by the Hong Kong Arts Festival Society, is one of the most important international festivals in Asia and has become highly regarded world-wide since its inception in 1973. In 2009, it staged over 120 performances of music, dance, opera, theatre and entertainment of all kinds.

The Hong Kong Festival Fringe is an open arts festival held annually in January. The festival features over 200 performances, exhibitions and outdoor arts fairs.

The Hong Kong International Film Festival, held yearly in March/April, is one of the world's major non-competitive film festivals which screens quality films from a wide spectrum of world cinema. The Asian Cinema and Hong Kong Retrospective Cinema are highly regarded by overseas film circles. The LCSD also co-organises the Hong Kong Independent Short Film and Video Awards to promote quality non-commercial short films and videos and encourages creative independent film production.

The LCSD presents two thematic arts festivals annually. The International Arts Carnival, held yearly in July to August, aims at cultivating interest in the arts among children and the youth, and providing them with educational entertainment during the summer vacation. A thematic arts festival is also organized in autumn every year. The biennial New Vision Arts Festival is presented since 2002 featuring innovative and outstanding cross-cultural performances with an Asian focus. In alternative year from the New Vision Arts Festival comes the World¡¦s Cultures Series with ¡§Latin Passion Arts Festival¡¨ in 2005, ¡§Mediterranean Arts Festival¡¨ in 2007 and the ¡§Silk Road Arts Festival¡¨ scheduled for 2009. In 2008, the two thematic arts festivals staged over 500 performances and activities attracting a total audience of over 210 000.

Apart from Festival events, the Department also organizes over 2 000 cultural programmes, audience building and educational activities on a year-round basis. Featuring local and visiting artists, these diverse cultural programmes range from traditional repertories to avant-garde creative performances. Besides, the LCSD, in collaboration with various local arts groups and educational institutions, unveils a number of audience building schemes and arts educational activities to promote the knowledge and appreciation of the performing arts at community level and schools, including the School Culture Day Scheme, School Arts Animateur Scheme, Arts Experience Scheme for Senior Secondary Students, Community Cultural Ambassador Scheme and District Cantonese Opera Parade.

The LCSD also organises free entertainment programmes for the community. In 2008 / 09, a total of 640 free entertainment activities were held attracting around 914 000 participants. These included 615 free entertainment programmes which were organized in the 18 districts in co-operation with the District Councils, as well as 25 territory-wide festive carnivals such as the Lunar New Year Lantern Carnivals, Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnivals, New Year's Eve Countdown Carnival, and other thematic programmes such as cultural performances at Olympic Live Sites, Asian Ethnic Cultural Performances, Youth Band Marathon and Hong Kong Jazz Festival Outdoor Performance. Moreover, spectacular thematic lantern exhibitions were held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza during the Lunar New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival and at the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Public Libraries operated by LCSD

The Hong Kong Public Libraries system comprises 66 static libraries and 10 mobile libraries. It also manages the Books Registration Office. The public libraries system provides free library services to meet community needs for knowledge, information, research and recreation and to support lifelong learning and continuous education. It promotes reading and local literary arts and offers library extension activities to all ages. Presently, the public libraries have a total of approximately 12.34 million library materials. It also provides the public with 24 hours On-line Public Access Catalog search, renewal and reservation of library materials, e-books and On-line database search through the Internet.

The Hong Kong Central Library (HKCL) which was opened in May 2001 is the hub of the service network for Hong Kong's public libraries system. Occupying a 12 storey building with a gross floor area of 33 800 sq m, it is the largest and the most frequently used public library in Hong Kong. The Library has a stock of over 2 million items and provides an array of library services and new facilities which include the Library's award-winning Multimedia Information System, the Central Reference Library, the Arts Resources Centre, the Hong Kong Literature Room, Audio-visual Library, the Map Library, the Language Learning Centre, the Young Adult Library, Toy library and so on. In addition, the HKCL is also a major information and cultural centre of Hong Kong. Apart from launching the Documents Collections and Hong Kong Music Collections Campaigns, it also holds regular exhibitions, cultural talks and seminars.