14 Best Shopping in Hong Kong, China

A visit here takes you behind the historic Central Police Station, where walls facing the gallery's distinctive space are still topped by broken glass (a common security measure). Since it opened in 2001, the white-walled gallery has spotlighted emerging artists from all over the world, with a primary focus on ones from the Asia Pacific area. Owner-curator Katie de Tilly has a particularly keen eye for photography, and the gallery often features the works of established names such as Vietnamese-American fine arts photographer Dinh Q. Lê and pioneering Chinese artist Wang Keping.

Founded in 1981 by Alice King, Alisan Fine Arts was one of the first galleries in Hong Kong to promote contemporary Chinese art and is now an established authority. Styles range from traditional to modern abstract, and mediums include oil, acrylic, and Chinese ink.

On the southern side of Hong Kong island, this gallery often features boundary-pushing conceptual artists from Asia, as well as leading ones from Europe and North America. Since opening it in 2004, founder Dominique Perregaux has brought a fresh perspective to the local art scene.

The AAA saw it before the rest of us: contemporary Asian art is big. In 2000, the Asian Art Archive set out to address the lack of information on the emerging field and to record its growth. It provides comprehensive research resources through its website, library, and reading facilities, which are open to the public.

This well-known gallery represents a small batch of modern, mostly figurative Chinese artists, though it also showcases the dreamlike work of Swedish painter Dorina Mocan and dabbles in photography. Recent exhibitions have foregrounded farflung talents, such as French artist Christian Gaillard and his unique portraits of Spanish matadors. The gallery started to push out of its—and Hong Kong's—comfort zone with the opening of Connoisseur Contemporary next door in 2008; it features the often controversial creative output of the sociopolitical group referred to as the "eighties generation"—mainland Chinese emerging artists born in the 1980s under the one-child policy and known for subversive works.

The city's first gallery specializing in studio glass has a bilevel backdrop of modern glass sculptures by artists from Southeast Asia, Australia, and the United States. It has also branched out to include a variety of paintings from primarily Chinese-Australian artists—expect everything from watercolors to abstract, pop works to traditional oils. By appointment only.

Director and chief curator Henry Au-yeung writes about, curates, and gives lectures on 20th-century Chinese art. His tucked-away gallery focuses exclusively on local Chinese artists, with an interest in the newest and most avant-garde works. Look for paintings, sculptures, prints, mixed-media pieces, and conceptual installations.

This is a rare opportunity to compare and contrast cutting-edge and experimental Chinese art selected by one of the field's most respected authorities. Unassuming curatorial director Johnson Chang Tsong-zung also cofounded the Asia Art Archive and has curated exhibitions at the São Paolo and Venice biennials.

The art world's version of a pub crawl, Hong Kong Art Walk is an excellent chance to experience the gallery scene. Held over the course of one evening every year, usually in the spring, it gives ticket holders unlimited access to more than 70 galleries where food and drinks donated by neighboring restaurants help create a festive environment. Partial proceeds go to charity, fine arts graduation shows, and participating artists.

Part art gallery, part Aussie coffee shop, Odd One Out is an unpretentious addition to the gentrified Star Street precinct. Aiming to bring affordable and approachable art to everyday folks, the down-to-earth gallery café specializes in print and home products that have been handmade by local artists. Expect to spend around HK$55–HK$6,000 on any given piece, which could include stationery, wood cuttings, screen-printed totes, or original art prints made using masterful intaglio and lithography techniques, sans digital shortcuts.

In the heart of an up-and-coming cultural district down in Aberdeen, this spacious industrial-chic loft-style gallery displays groundbreaking contemporary Chinese art alongside ancient Asian textiles and rugs. To get the most out of it, ask the refreshingly knowledgeable staff to escort you around.

Works by diverse emerging and established artists from Indonesia, Thailand, mainland China, Hong Kong, and other Asian and European countries reveal the aesthetic tastes of lively Hong Kong designer and entrepreneur Sin Sin Man. There are also regular exhibitions and artist talks.

This is the place for Hong Kong–based artist Hu Yongkai's charming, slightly cartoonish depictions of Chinese women in traditional settings (you've almost certainly seen fakes in a Stanley Market stall). Among emerging and established local artists the gallery, which isn't as stuffy as some and more commercial than others, also represents Bob Yan, whose extremely popular and colorful dog portraits are commissioned by private clients.

The gallery's massive street-level windows still hold court on this sleek bar and restaurant strip. Inside you'll find contemporary, often abstract, paintings from China, with a smattering of work from Burma and Vietnam.