Chinese art at the University of Hong Kong

Why go

Bronzes, ceramics, paintings and carvings give the collection breadth, while its Nestorian crosses offer an unusual point of focus within Chinese art. The former Fung Ping Shan library provides a distinct setting alongside the adjoining art gallery. Visit for selected collection interests and exhibitions rather than expecting every holding to be on view.

What to look for

• The Chinese art collection includes Nestorian crosses.
• Fung Ping Shan Building combines masonry and red-brick upper storeys.
• A bridge links the historic building with the adjoining gallery.

The full story

Fung Ping Shan Building was constructed in 1932 as a library for Chinese books, named after its donor. Its masonry base, red-brick upper storeys and prominent entrance pediment belong to that original institutional role. The university museum was established in 1953, and the former library later became a museum of Chinese art and archaeology. The addition of galleries in the T.T. Tsui Building in 1996 joined the older building to a larger museum complex. Collections developed through donations and acquisitions, bringing together objects from different periods and materials rather than a single artistic tradition. The Nestorian crosses are a particularly distinctive part of those holdings. The building's own progression from library to museum provides another thread: successive forms of study have occupied the same place, preserving the connection between a university setting and the objects encountered inside.

Useful to know

• Check the current exhibitions and allow about 75 minutes.
• Use the Fung Ping Shan Building ground-floor entrance at 90 Bonham Road.

Your next visit

Estimated · Declared scenario and planning estimates; no live opening, weather, queue or booking service.