Hong Kong Looks to Its Past, at Last

Amid its transformation from sleepy colonial backwater to major Asian financial center, Hong Kong was frequently accused of being too busy hustling its next buck to look back on its colorful past.

Now it has, and visitors to the bustling city are richer for it.

After nearly a decade of planning and construction, the $100-million Hong Kong Heritage Museum opened its doors last week. With six permanent galleries and an equal number of temporary exhibitions, the museum’s focus is not on Hong Kong Island but on the former British colony’s many outlying islands and the mainland area known as the New Territories.

Housed in a new concrete and glass building, the museum accomplishes two feats: It traces the region’s rich 6,000-year history in a series of well-connected exhibits called time tunnels, and it looks in depth at Hong Kong culture.

The permanent exhibitions include Cantonese opera treasures: dazzling jeweled costumes, colorful face masks and props, all arranged in a large room so that visitors can see life at the opera both as a member of the audience and from behind the scenes. The museum’s temporary exhibits range from tracing the evolution of local comic books to presenting relics from 18th century Emperor Qian Long’s 80th birthday party.

The museum, at 1 Man Lam Road, Sha Tin, in the New Territories, is about 40 minutes from the major hotels on Hong Kong Island and is reachable by public transit plus a short walk or taxi ride. Admission is about $1.25. Open Tuesdays to Sundays; closed Mondays.