Exploring Hong Kong's Avenue of Stars and West Kowloon Cultural District: A Guide to Art, Culture, and Stunning Views

2023-05-16 19:30:00

Hong Kong Avenue of Stars and West Kowloon Cultural District

The Hong Kong Film Awards sculpture is erected at the beginning of the Avenue of Stars by the sea in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. The night view of Hong Kong Island across the sea hangs in the background.

Is it a simple feeling? The Chinese notation has grown noticeably, and the English notation seems to have dwindled. The movie ‘Chungking Express’, which was released in Korea in 1995, is praised for expressing well the fate of Hong Kong and the psychology of Hong Kong people facing the return to China. The shaky first screen and crowded alleys show Hong Kong’s unpredictable future. The take-out late-night snack restaurant ‘Midnight Express’ is the link between the two couples who break up and find a new love. Coincidentally, the theme songs ‘California Dream’ and ‘In a Dream’ are repeated endlessly. In July 1997, the balance of this city, where Western (British) and Chinese cultures coexisted for a century, was clearly tipped toward China. And despite the citizens’ massive resistance in 2019, the following year, the ‘Hong Kong Security Law’ is enforced, and Hong Kong’s sinicization is accepted as a fait accompli.

Memorable Hong Kong movie stars in one place

Whether it’s positive or negative, Hong Kong has no more confusion. The lights of high-rise buildings are still gorgeous, and the city, which was imprinted as a food and shopping paradise, is now expanding its image to the realm of culture. ‘Avenue of the Stars’ is located at the end of Tsim Sha Tsui on the Kowloon Peninsula, where the skyline of Hong Kong Island spreads across the narrow sea like a river. It was first created in 1982 and reopened in January 2019 after three years of reorganization. James Conner, who designed New York’s High Line Park, redesigned it to increase the number of spaces where you can sit and relax while looking out over the sea. Sophistication meets practicality.

Statue of Bruce Lee on Avenue of Stars in Hong Kong. It is located right in front of Starbucks Coffee Shop.

The handprints of Hong Kong movie stars and directors continue on the railings of the Avenue of Stars promenade.

On Hong Kong’s Avenue of Stars, Jang Kook-young’s face is depicted instead of handprints.

Tsim Sha Tsui (尖沙咀) means a topography with sharp sandy beaches. Most of the hotels and shopping centers concentrated here are built on land reclaimed from the sea and sandy beaches. The same goes for Star Street. There is a statue of the Hong Kong Film Awards depicting a goddess holding a pearl at the starting point, which is so neatly maintained that not even a single grain of sand can be found. From here, handprints of Hong Kong movie stars and directors continue along the railing of the coastal promenade for about 450m. Behind the handprints of stars who led the heyday of Hong Kong cinema until the 1990s, such as Lee Yeon-geol, Yu Deok-hwa, Jackie Chan, and Jang Man-ok, the blue sea water ripples behind them, and beyond them, high-rise buildings on Hong Kong Island surround it like a folding screen. Koreans in their 40s and older are usually familiar actors, but the titles written as ‘gentleman’ after a male name and ‘maesa’ for a female are Chinese-like, yet feel distanced as much as the gap in time. Jang Guk-young, who passed away like a lie on April Fool’s Day on April 1, 2003, was unable to leave his handprint and only briefly depicted her face. The Street of Stars ends at the place where the statues of So-ryong Lee (1940-1973) and Mae Yeom-bang (1963-2003) are erected.

This street, which has a view as cool as the sea breeze, is full of energy in the early morning with citizens taking a walk and exercising, and at night it is crowded with tourists who want to enjoy the night view. Behind the statue of the Hong Kong Film Awards, the lights of high-rise buildings across the sea shine brighter than stars.

K11 Musea, a complex cultural space connected to the Street of Stars.

In the middle of the Street of Stars, a building called K11 MUSEA, with some of its exterior decorated with plants, stands out. Like its name, which is a combination of a museum and the sea, it is a complex cultural space where you can enjoy art works as well as shopping. Various installation works are hidden between the 250 stores and 70 restaurants in the building, and a separate art tour is also operated.

A cultural space that is attracting attention in Hong Kong these days is M+, which opened in November 2021 in the West Kowloon Cultural District. True to its name, “More than a Museum,” visitors can appreciate a wide range of works of art, from modern art to contemporary art, architecture, design, and video, in 33 exhibition spaces. Approximately 250 multinational curators are in charge of not only planning exhibitions but also digital art.

M+, a large-scale art exhibition in Hong Kong’s West Kowloon Cultural District.

M+ is a closed building from the outside, but when you go inside, natural light floods in everywhere.

The interior of the M+ permanent exhibition hall.

The building was designed by Swiss architect Herzog. He is the person who designed the Tate Modern, a contemporary art museum in London, the Olympic Stadium in Beijing, and the Songeun Art Center in Seoul. From the outside, it is tightly closed with concrete like a big box, but when you go inside, it is an open space where light penetrates everywhere. There are main entrances in three northeast and west directions, and there are seven entrances in the entire building. On the second floor, there is a special exhibition hall and three large permanent exhibition halls, and when you go out to the terrace, the sea and Hong Kong Island are hung like a huge picture frame. The rooftop is created as a garden with a cool view. The G floor and the 1st floor are open spaces where you can freely enter without buying a ticket.

Jeong Do-yeon, Korean deputy director and chief curator, said that M+ is a museum of contemporary visual culture that encompasses design and video as well as fine art, and introduced the West Kowloon Cultural District centered on it as a place where Hong Kong is reborn. “Hong Kong is widely known as a gastronomic and shopping paradise, but over the past few years it has grown into a cultural hub. M+ is a museum that aims for world-class collections beyond Hong Kong, China and Asia. I recommend Korean travelers to visit this place to see the new Hong Kong.”

When you go out to the M+ terrace, the high-rise buildings of Hong Kong Island across the sea hang like a picture frame.

M+ visitors are taking commemorative photos on the terrace.

Citizens are taking a leisurely break at the West Kowloon Cultural District Art Park.

Seoguryong Cultural District refers to the area of the seaside park that encompasses M+ and the nearby Palace Museum. Few cities are as adept at making efficient use of a small piece of land as Hong Kong. Listening to the guide’s explanation, it sounds like the Seo-guryong Cultural District is incredibly wide, but in fact, it’s less than 2km even if you walk around the entire area. Inside, a museum and a well-maintained art park are in harmony. It is an open space where you can enjoy a relaxing beach walk or picnic in downtown Hong Kong. At sunset, the sunset is especially beautiful and the surrounding scenery is clean, so relatively many young people who want to take beautiful pictures visit.

Two Hong Kong Night Views, Victoria Peak and Disneyland

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Hong Kong is Victoria Peak. At 552m above sea level, it is the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island. From Hong Kong Island and the skyscrapers of the Kowloon Peninsula, and Victoria Harbor that separates them, you can see the city scenery at a glance. You can use a bus or hiking trails, but the most popular way for travelers to reach the peak is to take the Peak Tram (Round trip 88 Hong Kong dollars, about 15,000 won).

The Peak Tram connects Victoria Peak to Central Hong Kong. The track slope is close to vertical.

Hong Kong city night view from Victoria Peak.

Tourists take pictures of the night view of Hong Kong from the Victoria Peak Sky Terrace 428 Observatory.

The Peak Tram started operating in 1888 for the British Governor and British residents living on the mountaintop. It is one of the oldest funicular railways in the world. It takes about 6 minutes to travel 1,278m from Hong Kong Central to the top of the mountain. Since it climbs from 33m to 396m at once, the steepness is almost vertical. It means you can feel the thrill of riding a ride. The passenger car has been transformed, and now you can see both sides of the tracks and the ceiling through the wide windows.

The most popular time for tourists to Peak is, of course, around sunset when you can see the fantastic night view. When you arrive at the upper station, you can take several zigzag escalators up to the observation deck, Sky Terrace 428 (admission fee is HK$75). The observatory on the wok-shaped building, which is a Chinese cooking utensil, is a flat rooftop with an observatory passage without any special decorations.

Right in front of you, from high-rise apartments in Central to large commercial buildings by the sea, rise like a mushroom shoot, and across the sea, high and low buildings from Hong Kong’s highest (112th floor) International Commerce Center (ICC) continue into a panorama. It is because there are many visitors, but there is little space to rest, so it is regrettable to enjoy romance leisurely. In this case, it is better to boldly give up the observatory and walk a little on the stairs next to the building or on the promenade. You can enjoy the night view of Hong Kong for free, which is not much different from the observatory.

Peak Tram tickets can be purchased online or on-site, but it is convenient to use Hong Kong’s public transport card ‘Octopus’. If you swipe your card at the ticket gate, 66 Hong Kong dollars will be automatically withdrawn when you go up and 22 Hong Kong dollars when you come down.

Superhero Parade at Hong Kong Disneyland.

Hong Kong Disneyland visitors take pictures with Iron Man.

A performance of ‘Momentus’ at Hong Kong Disneyland. Disney animation famous scenes are projected onto the huge castle.

A performance of ‘Momentus’ at Hong Kong Disneyland. Disney animation famous scenes, music, and fireworks are harmonized.

If you are a Marvel movie fan, you cannot miss Hong Kong Disneyland. Until the 22nd of next month, the ‘Avengers and Tomorrow’s Heroes Assembly’ parade will be held, featuring all of Marvel’s superheroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, and Thor. Fans will also be given the opportunity to shake hands with their favorite characters or take pictures. One drawback is that all events are conducted in Chinese. It is not easy to adapt to the original English-speaking character.

The highlight of an amusement park is, of course, the fireworks display. For 20 minutes from 8:40 p.m., the huge castle in the center of the amusement park will be transformed into a media façade and a performance of ‘Momentus’ will be held. About 40 classic Disney scenes and characters are animatedly projected onto the castle and dancing fountains, accompanied by the corresponding film music, and colorful fireworks cover the sky. If you evaluate the fireworks alone, it may not be as good as an amusement park in Korea, but when combined with Disney’s solid story that brings each character to life, it immerses visitors into a world of childlike innocence and fantasy.

Hong Kong = text and photo Heungsoo Choi reporter [email protected]