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Schoeni Art Gallery (www.schoeni.com.hk; 10.30am-6.30pm Mon-Sat); Soho ( Map; 2869 8802; 21-31 Old Bailey St); Central ( Map; 2542 3143; 27 Hollywood Rd) This Swiss-owned gallery, the Central branch of which has been a feature on Hollywood Rd for almost a quarter of a century, specialises in neo-realist and postmodern mainland Chinese art.

Sin Sin Fine Art ( Map; 2858 5072; www.sinsin.com.hk; Ground fl, 1 Prince’s Tce, Soho; 10.30am-7.30pm Tue-Sat, 2-7pm Sun) This eclectic gallery owned and run by a local fashion designer shows Hong Kong, mainland Chinese and Southeast Asian art.

YY9 Gallery ( Map Click here; 2574 3370; www.2bsquare.com; Ground fl, 83-85 Sing Woo Rd, Happy Valley; 10am-7pm Mon-Sat) Founded by a furnishing design consultant, this gallery shows local contemporary art in a range of media, from painting and photography to sculpture and ceramics.

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Contemporary ceramics is another field in which Hong Kong artists enjoy an edge beyond the city’s borders. Fiona Wong, one of the city’s best-known ceramic artists, makes life-sized sculptural works of clothing, shoes and other familiar items.

The best sources for up-to-date information on contemporary Hong Kong and Asian art are the free monthly Art Map (www.artmap.com.hk), the Asia Art Archive ( Map; 2815 1112; www.aaa.org.hk; 11th fl, Hollywood Centre, 233 Hollywood Rd, Sheung Wan; 10am-6pm Mon-Sat) and the Hong Kong International Association of Art Critics (www.aicahk.org), which has online reviews of exhibitions in the city.

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MUSIC

Western

Classical

Western classical music is very popular in Hong Kong. The territory boasts the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Hong Kong Sinfonietta and the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong. The city is a stop on the international classical music touring circuit, so opportunities to see big-name soloists and major orchestras abound throughout the year, especially during the Hong Kong Arts Festival (Click here) in February/March. The Hong Kong International Piano Competition (chshk.brinkster.net) with its star-studded jury is held once every three years in October/November. The Academy for Performing Arts (www.hkapa.edu) has free concerts almost daily.

Jazz

Jazz is hotting up in Hong Kong. The best time to experience world-class jazz in the city is during the Hong Kong International Jazz Festival (www.hkjazz.org) in November and the Hong Kong Arts Festival (Click here) in February/March. Hong Kong also has a small but zealous circle of local musicians, including the 17-piece Saturday Night Jazz Orchestra (www.saturdaynight-jazz.com), which plays Big Band sounds every month, and Basic Notes (www.basicnotesbigband.com), formed by a group of jazz aficionados. Other names to watch out for include guitarist Eugene Pao, the first local jazz artist to sign with an international label, and pianist Ted Lo, who has played with Astrud Gilberto and Herbie Hancock.

Traditional Chinese

You won’t hear much traditional Chinese music on the streets of Hong Kong, except perhaps the sound of the doleful dì-dáa, a clarinet-like instrument played in funeral processions; the hollow-sounding gú (drums) and crashing làw (gongs) and bat (cymbals) at lion dances; the yi-wú, a two-stringed fiddle favoured by beggars for its plaintive sound; or strains of Cantonese opera wafting from the radio of a minibus driver. You can sample this kind of music, albeit in a form adapted to a symphony orchestra model, at concerts given by the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra (www.hkco.org). For more authentic fare, catch a Chinese opera or check out the Temple Street Night Market, where street performers deliver operatic excerpts.

Canto-Pop

Hong Kong’s home-grown popular music scene is dominated by ‘Canto-pop’ – compositions that often blend Western rock, pop and R&B with Chinese melodies and lyrics. For a screaming, Day Gloed spectacle, attend a concert at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Hung Hom. Better still, try singing it at one of the territory’s many karaoke bars.