DESTINATIONS HONG KONG ASIA


follow over the next few years. Eventually, the development will provide a new cultural quarter for locals and visitors alike. When fully open, the building complex will have the capacity to host festivals and events for up to 10,000 people. Key to that is the Xiqu Centre,


a performing-arts venue that has a 1,050-seat Grand Theatre plus the 200-seat Tea House Theatre. It is dedicated to the promotion of Cantonese opera and other traditional Chinese theatre, and is located on the eastern edge of the district. It can be reached from the new Hong Kong West Kowloon Station (Express Rail Link Terminus) and Austin MTR station. Scheduled to open in 2020, the M+, a museum of visual culture, will showcase 20th and 21st-century visual art, design and architecture, as well as moving images from Hong Kong and around the world. The nearby M+ Pavilion has already opened and is being used as a site for exhibitors until the museum is completed.


The Xiqu Centre is dedicated to the promotion of Cantonese opera and Chinese theatre


M+ and M+ Pavilion are in the Art Park on the waterfront, where the public can already access a promenade providing views of Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong Island.


Also housed in the park is


Freespace, a ‘black box’ theatre that will hold up to 900 people, and is scheduled to open in April, and the Lyric Theatre, which will host performances of local and international dance and theatre. In addition, the Hong Kong


Palace Museum is set to open in 2022, with displays of Chinese art and cultural artefacts from the imperial collection of the Palace Museum in Beijing. westkowloon.hk/en


What’s new in Hong Kong?


 The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, connecting Hong Kong with mainland China, opened last October. Spanning 35 miles, it starts from an artificial island near Hong Kong International Airport and ends at the eastern shores of Macao.


 The Guangzhou to Hong Kong Express Rail Link opened in September, cutting the journey time to Beijing from 24 hours


to 11. Tickets from the new West Kowloon Station to Guangzhou start at £26.


 The Rosewood Hong Kong will open in Tsim Sha Tsui in March, while the St Regis Hong Kong in Wan Chai will follow in the summer. Soho House Hong Kong, in the Sai Ying Pun area, will become the first branch of the hotel and private members’ club in the Far East later this year.


74travelweekly.co.uk14 February 2019


PICTURES: WEST KOWLOON CULTURAL DISTRICT AUTHORITY; SHUTTERSTOCK


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