Multi-purpose Enjoyment in HONG KONG
WHEN FERRY DE BAKKER VISITS HONG KONG HE ESCHEWS MODERN SHOPPING CENTRES IN FAVOUR OF RECENTLY RENOVATED HISTORIC BUILDINGS WHICH EXUDE GREAT AMBIENCE AND OFFER UNIQUE AND ENTICING SHOPS AND SERVICES.
This is how it works: you select an old building, preferably one that used to be a warehouse, or a factory. You renovate and transform it. Next, you fill it with art galleries; a museum if possible; coffee shops and restaurants; quaint or designer shops that sell fashion, shoes, vintage watches, jewellery. Sure enough, you will find a good bookstore there. Most of what is on sale is locally produced. And, what a relief: no global fashion brands that have made all major cities look similar. OK… now you have something special. In Hong Kong, there are three relatively new multi-purpose centres to visit and enjoy. You can easily spend an entire day in each of them. Let us take a look:
PMQ - AN HISTORIC SITE
PMQ is an historic site that used to be the Hollywood Road Police Married Headquarters. It was built on the site of the majestic Queen’s College that caught fire during the Japanese occupation and was completely destroyed. It opened in 1951 and was closed in 2000, after
having served its purpose for nearly half a century. Renovation started 12 years later under the supervision of the government’s Architectural Services Department and two years later PMQ was opened.
THE LARGEST SAKE SHOP IN THE WORLD?
This interesting landmark is located between famous Hollywood Road, Staunton Road and Aberdeen Street in the Soho area of Central. PMQ is home to over 100 venues of local young entrepreneurs, including small boutiques and what is probably the largest sake shop in the world. Sake Central celebrates Japanese culture through food and beverage, with a very strong focus on that wonderful Japanese beverage. It offers an extensive variety of sake bottles from both small and large breweries and features a cultural pavilion, handmade Japanese glassware and ceramics and a splendid sake bar, and has Otsumami, Japanese snacks such as edamame and crispy stingray fins called Eihire, from Chef Marco Li Voti. I could spend hours there!
THE TASTE LIBRARY
If you don’t know what to prepare for dinner, a visit to the Taste Library is a must. It holds a collection of 3000 cookbooks, covering cuisines from all over the globe. The library is divided in three sections, including a magazine reading area, reading rooms and an open kitchen. Presented by Hong Kong artist Craig Au Yeung, the PMQ Taste Library offers visitors the opportunity to sit down, relax and take time to read about exciting dishes, which they can later prepare at home. PMQ is also a place where workshops, lectures and other events about art, design, handicraft, food and lifestyle are held on an
almost daily basis. You won’t get bored at PMQ. On the contrary, you will leave this place inspired and refreshed.
TAI KWUN - BIG STATION
Tai Kwun is Cantonese for big station. And this is how the former Central Police Station of Hong Kong was known. It is currently named Tai Kwun, Centre of Heritage and Arts. Located close to PMQ, which also has a police background, Tai Kwun includes three declared monuments, the police station itself, as well as the former Central
Magistracy and Victoria Prison. It underwent a major renovation and opened in May 2018. This project has been made possible by the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which took a leading role in the renovation, in partnership with the Government of Hong Kong SAR. The complex has a long history and originally comprised of 16 buildings, more than a dozen of which have been given a new lease on life. The renovation project has turned Tai
Kwun into a majestic compound, full of surprising open spaces and rooms, many with interesting angles. The entire project has been designed by Herzig & de Meuron, partnering with the Hong Kong firm of Rocco Yong and along with conservation architects Purcell.
THE PARADE GROUND
The Parade Ground offers a wide range of bars, coffeeshop and dining experiences, with some restaurants offering simple dishes and others that have an emphasis on fine dining. A well-curated and stocked bookstore appears to be one of the favourite shops and this is certainly my number one destination here. But there is more: shops and galleries that sell art, gifts, apparel and lifestyle products can be found around the large former Parade Ground. This large space is used by the Tai Kwun management to organise a neverending range of theatre, dance, film and music performances. Elsewhere in the compound learning opportunities, workshops, exhibitions and tours are offered. Tai Kwun is home to two completely new buildings, named after the Hong Kong Jockey Club. They are JC Contemporary and JC Cube. JC Contemporary houses an art centre with large
exhibitions spaces, where it presents contemporary art shows. At JC Cube, we find a multi-purpose auditorium.
THE MILLS
The Mills is a large former textile manufacturing site in Hong Kong’s Tsuen Wan area. It is owned by the Nan Fung Group, formerly a textile giant and currently one of the largest privately held companies, with interests in property development and investment services. To celebrate the company’s 60th anniversary in 2014, it announced a much-heralded project to transform and revitalize the former company’s textile factories into what it calls a destination for innovation, culture and learning. This way, it hoped to start a discussion on how to reinvent the way society thinks about the development of Hong Kong; honouring its history, while creating the future.
THE CENTRE FOR HERITAGE, ARTS & TEXTILE
The flagship venue at The Mills is the Centre for Heritage,
Arts & Textile (CHAT), managed by codirectors Takahashi Mizuki and Teoh Chin Chin. Ms Mizuki worked as a founding curatorial member of the Mori
Art Museum and as a senior curator at the Art Tower Mito, in Mito City.
Ms Teoh had a successful career in
finance with
Bank of America Merrill-lynch and other financial institutions, before switching to the arts and completing a master’s degree at SOAS University of London and joining CHAT. What a pleasure it must be for them to be in charge of such a delightful venue.
TEXTILES EVERYWHERE
Housed in the former Mill 6 of The Mills, CHAT engages its visitors with multi-faceted curated programmes, including exhibitions, education initiatives, discussion forums and other events about textiles, art and fashion. The D.H. Chen Foundation Gallery, named after the founder of
Nan Fung Textiles, tells us about the history of the textile industry in Hong Kong, as well as the process of turning cotton into textiles. Another captivating space is the CHAT Lab, where sewing experts and artists work together.
A CENTRE FOR TECHSTYLE ENTREPRENEURS
Mills 5 and 6 contain shops floors, as well as offices. Eye-catching is The Mills Fabrica, a hub for what it calls techstyle entrepreneurs. It provides them with a 12-month incubation programme, offering a comprehensive range of support functions. Fabrica has also launched an evergreen investment platform, a prototyping lab, and a series of Fabrica Weave publications. The Mills Shopfloor, located on different levels, houses experimental retail, dining and lifestyle examples. They are all start-ups of young entrepreneurs. Amazing!