University Museum & Art Gallery at HKU

For fans of history, especially ancient Chinese history, then the University Museum & Art Gallery (UMAG – CN: 香港大學美術博物館), in the University of Hong Kong (HKU), is well worth a visit. It contains many artifacts from periods in Chinese history dating back to the Neolithic Period including bronze works, paintings, ceramics and much more.

The main building, Fung Ping Shan Building, is a historic attraction in itself for architecture fans.

Admission is free. For getting the most out of your visit see the floor plan map here.

Nearby Hotel Pick

Hotel Jen Hong Kong by Shangri-La – Four-star and great value with rooftop pool, harbour views, gym, and walking distance from MTR HKU Station and the University. They also provide a shuttle bus to the MTR Hong Kong Station.

Wikipedia

History

University Museum and Art Gallery was established in 1953. It is the oldest museum in Hong Kong.

The three-storey Fung Ping Shan Museum was originally built for a Chinese book library in 1932. Named after its donor (Fung Ping Shan), the building consists of masonryon the ground level surmounted by a two-storey red-brick structure with applied ornamental pilasters topped by a prominent pediment over its entrance.

It was a dormitory used by the First-aid Station of Air Defence at Mid-levels Section E in 1941
Since 1963, the Fung Ping Shan library building was converted into the Fung Ping Shan Museum of Chinese art and archaeology. In 1996, the lowest three floors of the new T. T. Tsui Building were extended to the old building to form the nowadays “University Museum and Art Gallery”.

Collections & Temporary Exhibitions

The University Museum and Art Gallery houses Chinese antiquities, notably bronzes, ceramics, paintings and wood carving that have been built over the past sixty years through acquisition and donation. Among the highlights of the collection are an early blue-and-white water pot and the world’s largest collection of Nestorian plaques. The comprehensive collection has examples dating from the Neolithic period to the Qing dynasty. The bronze collection includes works from the Shang to the Tang_dynasty and the largest collection of Yuan dynasty Nestorian crosses in the world. The Museum also has a number of carvings in jade, wood and stone and a collection of Chinese oil paintings. In recent years, the Museum has also been collecting historical photographs of Hong Kong and items of popular culture.

The University of Hong Kong Museum Society

The University of Hong Kong Museum Society was established in 1988 to support UMAG’s exhibitions as well as art and educational programmes for the community.

Source: Wikipedia

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