The Luxury Treat You Need To Experience in the Revamped Cultural District of West Kowloon
In the West Kowloon Cultural District, you can indulge in meaningfully crafted and high-quality art, handiworks, food, and spaces.
On the westernmost part of the Kowloon Peninsula lies Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District. It is the city’s growing arts and cultural hub, a 40-hectare neighborhood sprawling with museums, green spaces, restaurants, and performance centers.
To be within the West Kowloon Cultural District is to experience luxury. It is to indulge in meaningfully crafted and high-quality art, handiworks, food, and spaces.
The neighborhood’s rich cultural heritage and lively art scene culminates in its art and cultural venues. In fact, the city’s first public museum for the arts, HK Museum of Art, is found by the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. Inside, they exhibit paintings, sculptures, and calligraphy from the locality and artists around the world. Their large collection is made up of around 17,000 artifacts, including Hong Kong-made work and Chinese antiques.
Along with material art, live art also finds a place in the Cultural District of West Kowloon. Xiqu Centre is a performance center dedicated to Xiqu or traditional Chinese opera. Although the main focus is its main theatre, where large-scale traditional and contemporary opera takes place, the center also boasts spaces for education and recreation. Below the theatre are lecture rooms, rehearsal spaces, and retail stores for both performers and guests.
Just a five-minute drive from Xiqu Centre is an area called Jordan. In the historical area, cultural and traditional crafts can be found. Created by local artisans and designers, they are products of decades worth of craftsmanship and practice.
Master Yan Ka-man, a tailor in the area for over 65 years, owns the clothing store Shanghai Baoxing Qipaos. There, he and his team expertly create qipaos and Chinese cotton jackets. However, one cannot simply walk into the store and purchase a ready-to-wear qipao.
The store was created back when tailor shops lined Jordan Road, when ready-made clothes were not always available and custom clothes were popular. And until today, this stays true within the walls of Shanghai Baoxing Qipaos. All of their dresses are made to measure, handmade especially for the wearer.
On top of his business, Master Yan Ka-man also conducts workshops and classes for local tailors, working to preserve the traditional practice of qipao making. As most of his trainees are much younger than himself, they forward the craft and add to it. Many make modern versions of the dress, bridging old and new fashions.
Also adding a modern touch to heritage is Sindart, a shoe store also in Jordan, which has survived for three generations. They sell traditional Chinese slippers, the colorful slip-ons with delicate embroidery. However, the current owner Miru Wong, who is the granddaughter of Sindart’s founders, adds fashionable touches to the shoes. She embroiders playful designs–animal characters and non-traditional plants.
Small gems such as these are what breathe life into The West Kowloon Cultural District. They are quaint yet accommodating, unique yet distinctly Hong Kong.
And although practicing the art of hospitality instead of handicraft, The Olympian, also possesses these qualities. Tucked by green space in Victoria Harbour, the small 5-star hotel is a hidden oasis amid the metropolitan. Their staff adds to this feeling by providing specialized service to their limited number of guests (they only have 32 residential-sized rooms and suites). The location also makes it easy to access the other areas in Kowloon. More than a convenient place to stay, it is a sure way to truly immerse yourself in the offerings of the West Kowloon Cultural District.
Another way to experience indulgence is by dining in Tin Lung Heen, a 2-Michelin star restaurant by Ritz-Carlton. The famed restaurant sits on the 102nd floor of the ICC building. And with the large floor-to-ceiling windows, diners can marvel at unparalleled cityscape views–whether sunset or night. More than the ambiance, they serve impeccable traditional Cantonese cuisine. In the famed Michelin guide, two of their signature dishes are lauded: honey-glazed Iberian pork char siu and double-boiled chicken soup with fish maw in coconut.
Whether you’re visiting for the day or planning to stay, one thing is sure. Those who enter the area are sure to experience the best of the best. From gastronomy and hospitality to art and design, the offerings of the West Kowloon Cultural District prove that it lives up to its reputation as a creative hub. The area exudes luxury that goes beyond price–authentically luxury earned by unparalleled experiences, skilled craftsmanship, and rich culture.
Discover more about West Kowloon in this video:
For more information about the West Kowloon district, check out Discover Hong Kong.
