Hong Kong Palace Museum, Hong Kong Attractions

The Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) held an opening ceremony on June 22, 2022 (Wednesday), and officially opened to the public on July 3, 2022 (Sunday), to mark the 25th anniversary of the city’s return to China. Located on the western tip of the West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong, the museum enjoys an incredible sea view of the Victoria Harbour. The brand new M+ Museum of visual art is within walking distance.

The Hong Kong Palace Museum was built by the Hong Kong West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) in cooperation with the Palace Museum in Beijing (a national museum in the Forbidden City). It’s the Palace Museum’s first collaborative project outside of mainland China. The Hong Kong Palace Museum is not a branch of Beijing’s Palace Museum. However, it will be a closer partner to its Beijing counterpart in its future development, according to Wang Xudong (the director of the Palace Museum in Beijing).

As the latest addition to the West Kowloon Cultural District, the Hong Kong Palace Museum wants to promote public research and appreciation of Chinese art and culture and experience the profound ancient history of China. In addition, it hopes to enrich the diversity of Hong Kong’s arts and culture and support Hong Kong’s development into a cultural exchange hub.

Architect & Design

The Hong Kong Palace Museum was designed by well-known Hong Kong local architect Rocco Yim Sen-kee (Yan Xunqi in Mandarin), who has rich experience in museum design. The Yunnan Provincial Museum and the Guangdong Provincial Museum are good examples by him of combining traditional culture into the modern design concept. He hopes to design the museum into a modern-style building reflecting the characteristics of Hong Kong’s blend of Chinese and Western cultures rather than pursuing retro style mindlessly.

The whole museum spans 130,000 square meters, and the building is only 30,000 square meters in size with seven floors. The museum is built upward because of the shortage of land supply in Hong Kong. The current design has more space on the ground floor for visitors and tourists to rest.

The six-story museum building comprises 7,800 square meters of exhibition space with nine galleries, 1,600 square meters of the Palace Academy for educational activities, 570 square meters of a 400-seat auditorium, a learning and resource center, atriums, a gift shop, and restaurants.

The exterior of the building is large at the top and narrow at the bottom. Thanks to the inclined shape, the museum can surround the sound and has better air flow, whihch is a great benefit for the preservation of collections. Its shape coincidentally looks like the ancient Chinese utensil called “ding”, a rectangular cauldron bronze with four standing legs and two facing handles.

Exterior of Hong Kong Palace Museum Building

Opening Hours

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday: 10 am - 6 pm

Friday, Saturday, and Public Holiday: 10 am - 8 pm

Closed on Tuesdays (except public holidays) and the first 2 days of the Chinese Lunar New Year

Ticket Information

All visitors can enjoy FREE admission to the seven regular exhibitions on every Wednesday during the museum’s first year of operation. Note that you should finish registration on the Hong Kong Palace Museum and West Kowloon platforms.

How to Get to Hong Kong Palace Museum?

Address: West Kowloon Cultural District, 8 Museum Drive, Kowloon, Hong Kong

By Taxi: the easiest way is to show your taxi driver the address in Traditional Chinese: 香港九龍西九文化區博物館道8號香港故宮文化博物館

By MTR: Take the subway to Kowloon Station. Leave from Exit E and walk to Hong Kong Palace Museum. Or, you can take minibuses CX1 from Exit E to the Museum.

By Bus: 296D (Sheung Tak – Kowloon Station), 973 (Stanley – Tsim Sha Tsui East), 215X, 261B, 281A, 8, 11, 203E, 280X, 904, 905, 914, 930, 930x, 934, 936, 948, 960, P960, 961, 962B, 962X, 967, 968, 969, 970, 971, 978, A10, A12, A17, E11A or E11B. (Hong Kong Palace Museum is within walking distance of these bus routes)