Accolades
- Large modern museum in Shatin
- Ancient Chinese ceramics and art
- Modern Hong Kong ceramics pieces and art
- Children's education and amusement area
- Exhibition rooms and auditoriums
- Large gift shop
Features
香港文化博物馆是一个大型的现代three-story building in Shatin in the New Territories. It is a surprisingly large and modern three-story building next to a canal. The best things about the museum are the very old ceramics in the T.T. Tsui Gallery of Chinese Art where you can see very old ceramics such as antique bowls, pots, and vessels dating to the Ming (1368-1644), Song (960-1279), and even the Tang eras (618-907) of history. Some of the vessels are large, and they are well-preserved, and the collection must be worth much money. Along with this main collection of ancient artwork, there are both regular and featured displays of modern Chinese and Hong Kong art and cinema along with exhibitions of artwork and cinema from around the world. There are a lot of video displays where people can view the featured videos. Along with this art, other highlights include a Children's Discovery Gallery, two theaters, and a Cantonese Opera Heritage Hall.
The T.T. Tsui Gallery is on the second floor. It is part of the museum's regular exhibits. You can see some amazingly old ceramics that are in good condition. If you love ceramics or are interested in Chinese history, it is a good place to go to see such antiques. You can see some of how the styles and kinds of ceramics changed from the Tang to the Ming eras. One of the most beautiful pieces a Tang-era brown platter that had an intricate multi-colored design. The shape of the plate is quite simple, but the design of swirling lines and blobs is unusual and eye catching. It looks like a piece of natural stone such as agate. The piece is from the Late Tang Dynasty. This means it is about 1,200 years old.
The T.T. Tsui Gallery is a large display of ancient pieces. There isn't only ceramics, but there are also furniture, religious artifacts and other kinds of art dating from pre-historic times to the Qing Dynasty. There are about 400 articles all together. The ceramics display may be almost as good in terms of quality and scope as that of the Hong Kong Museum of Tea Ware in Hong Kong Park.
If you are interested in Chinese opera, there is a Cantonese Opera Heritage Hall on the second floor. In 2009, Cantonese Opera was listed as a World Intangible Heritage by UNESCO. Along with documents and pictures, you can see costumes that were used.
有显示房间领土和强度rnational art and cinema is displayed. In 2011, among the thematic temporary exhibits was a display of animation by the PIXAR company that is world famous for its animation and technical savvy. Along with the videos, the displays included mattes and models used for animation and special effects. Another exhibit in 2011 was modern art by British artists.
Touring
Entering the front entrance, the ticket office is to the left. You can get a booklet about the museum as part of the ticket price. To the right of the door, there is a large gift shop. There is a collection of books and materials about Hong Kong, Hong Kong's culture and art, and souvenirs. Further on past the gift shop, there is a Children's Discovery Room. It is essentially a large room with entertainment video displays, a children's book room, and other things for kids. An interesting exhibit near the entrance is typical village house. Kids can go in and see a cooking area and other things, but the exhibit doesn't look like a typical Chinese village house at all.
There are elevators and escalators to the first and second floors. The building is big, and on the second floor, there is an open-air plaza with stone tables and stoles. There are theaters for performances or instruction on the first and second floor also. The main theater seats 400 people.
History
The museum opened in December 2000. It is located in the town of Shatin in the New Territories. Shatin is along the main northbound MTR line about halfway between Kowloon and the border. There are apartment high-rise buildings and parks around it. The museum covers 32,000 square meters, and there are 12 exhibition galleries. The museum's main purpose is to highlight Hong Kong art and cultural heritage, but the most important exhibit is the exhibit of ancient Chinese articles from all over the area of China.
Transportation
The museum is about a 15 minute walk from the Shatin MTR Station that is near the city hall. However, walking to it may be difficult unless you have a good map or a good idea of the area. It might be best to simply walk towards the large canal near the city hall building and walk to the right along the pedestrian way along the canal. It's a scenic and pleasant walk. You'll come to it in about 10 minutes.
- Address:1 Man Lam Road, Sha Tin, Hong Kong.
- MTR:Che Kung Temple Station and walk 5 minutes. Sha Tin Station and walk 15 minutes.
Travel Essentials
- Admission:adults, $10; Concessionary, $5; and groups of 20 persons or more, $7. Free on Wednesday. Free for children under 4 years of age.
- Hours:Monday, Wednesday to Saturday: 10 am - 6 pm. Sunday and public holidays: 10 am - 7 pm.
Christmas Eve and Chinese New Year's Eve: 10 am - 5 pm.
Closed on Tuesdays (except public holidays) and the first two days of the Chinese New Year.
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