Retail Riches

Those in search of authentic Chinese antiquities can trust Chine Gallery along the Hollywood Road, a stretch of shops proffering Asian antiques, where the genuinely ancient co-exists alongside more recent pieces. Women can go Oriental with a custom-made cheongsam dress from Linva Tailors on Cochrane Street (+852 2544 2456); Mr Leung keeps an extensive range of fine silks in solid and sexy prints. Men can keep up by slipping on exquisite handmade shirts and bespoke suits from A-Man Hing Cheong in Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong’s shopping arcade alongside bling-king Ronald Abram. Under-the-radar Youmna sells sublime designs in 18-carat Florentine gold, by appointment in an airy palm-fringed atelier.

View Points

No longer the only way to cross Victoria Harbour between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula, the Star Ferry remains, however, the waterway’s most romantic form of transport. Tickets are cheap and the extra half-dollar premium for the upper deck views is a bargain. The vertical perspective is no less impressive on the Peak Tram, one of the world’s steepest funicular railways, which has been climbing the island’s heights for about 120 years from Central, the business district, to Victoria Peak. Sit on the right-hand side heading up for the best views. For the broadest perspective of Hong Kong, take one of Heliservices’s amazing helicopter tours.

Art Affairs

Behind a red, rippled fibreglass façade, unexpectedly sandwiched between the fruit vendors and street stalls of Wan Chai Market, one of the last slivers of old Hong Kong, the Ooi Botos Gallery mounts exhibitions that explore China’s rapid 21st-century growth through the mediums of avant-garde photography, video and installation art. Modern art from China, Vietnam and Burma can be found at Zee Stone Gallery (www.zeestone.com), while further contemporary Chinese works are displayed at Plum Blossoms . Also in the neighbourhood is Grotto, which has a niche promoting Hong Kong artists.