Arts and Crafts

Arts and Crafts

Hong Kong is a great shopping destination for all types of Asian arts, crafts and antiques. Visitors can find arts and crafts, furniture, screens, ceramics, porcelain, cloisonné, ivory, jade, seals, embroidery, painting, scrolls, calligraphy and other fine pieces along with Mao buttons and other revolutionary memorabilia.

Valuable Chinese antiques, such as delicate vases, imperial embroidery and ancient pots can all be unearthed, as well as traditional silk garments, centuries-old opium pipes, Ming and Ching dynasty furniture and historical photographs. Many shops can arrange to insure, pack and ship your goods safely back home.

For porcelain, silk garments, musical instruments, seals and handicrafts, Chinese-style clothes, Chinese department stores, such as China Arts and Crafts, offer a wide range and make good one-stop shops.

Tips
			You may wish to consider an expert's appraisal and the customs duty regulations in your home country before buying.

Check out QTS shops for Arts and Crafts.

Art Galleries

Hong Kong's many art galleries offer a dynamic blend of Chinese traditional and progressive modern pieces.

Highly prized classical paintings portray serene images of willows and mountains, goldfish and old men. The elegantly scripted scrolls of calligraphy, considered one of the highest forms of art in China, offer words of wisdom and good fortune.

Galleries offer more than just a great place to spend a peaceful few hours window-shopping. With the modern art market heating up in China, many new contemporary art galleries are dotted around Central and Sheung Wan, featuring mainland and Hong Kong artists.

If you are looking for a novel piece of international art, Hong Kong's galleries are the best place to start.

Check out QTS shops for Art Galleries.

Handicrafts

Pick up some of the beautiful handicrafts available in Hong Kong. Hong Kong offers many handicrafts that have been skillfully produced throughout the region. Cloisonne ware, one of these traditional Chinese handicrafts, can be found in everything from chopsticks to vases. It is a striking effect that is achieved by a process of dropping coloured enamel between intricate copper designs, which are then fired and sanded. From small trinkets to larger ornaments, handicrafts make unique souvenirs and treasured gifts.

You'll find these items throughout Hong Kong, particularly in Chinese department stores, Stanley Market (bus 6, 6A, 6X, 66 or 260 from Exchange Square Bus Terminus, Central); Li Yuen streets east and west (Central MTR Exit C then walk along Des Voeux Road Central towards Sheung Wan); Upper Lascar Row, also known as "Cat Street" (Sheung Wan MTR Exit A2, turn right and then left along Hillier Street, away from the tramlines, turn right at Queen's Road Central, cross at the first "zebra" crossing then up the steps to "Cat Street"); and Hollywood Road (one block above Upper Lascar Row).

Tips
			Colour, style, pattern and workmanship are the key essential elements in choosing quality handicrafts.

Check out QTS shops for Handicrafts.

Antiques and Works of Art

Hollywood Road in Central is the heart of Hong Kong's thriving antiques quarter. Winding above Hong Kong's Central business district, the road is crammed full of hundreds of outlets selling everything from Neolithic pottery to kitsch, fine Chinese furniture to silk carpets. For antique maps, old black and white photos, Mao memorabilia, old imperial robes, antique jade and ivory carvings and many other fine items, Hollywood Road has them all. Collectors flock here from all over the world to rub shoulders with knowledgeable dealers and to attend the biannual Christie's and Sotheby's auctions.

Check out QTS shops for Antiques.

Embroidery, Silk & Linen

Hong Kong is an excellent place to buy fabrics, especially silk and linen. From cheongsam (traditional Chinese dresses) to pajamas, sheets, underwear and clothes, the quality and variety available is impressive. You'll find luxurious fabrics in almost every imaginable colour and texture, including embroidered, heavy, light and raw material.

Tablecloths, bedding, quilts, blankets and other items for the home are made from the finest silks and linens with delicate and intricate embroidery patterns and decoration.

Ivory, Seals & Engraving

Admire the exquisite pieces of skillfully crafted ivory in Hong Kong but remember the city is party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), so visitors wishing to purchase ivory products must obtain an import licence from their country of residence as well as a Hong Kong export licence. Some pieces are labeled "bone" instead of ivory but check them out carefully before taking them home.

Seals are still used as a signatory piece on official documentation in Hong Kong. These seals, known as chops, are carved from stones and substances such as marble, crystal and jade and usually used with red ink. Seals carry the person's name in Chinese characters and can be elaborately designed or quite plain.

Most engraving services will translate your name into Chinese for you, enabling visitors to take home a small useful memento of Hong Kong.