From meteorites to Monet: Shenzhen’s new museums draw Hongkongers beyond dining

Dinosaur fossils, rare meteorites and French Impressionist masterpieces are among Shenzhen’s newest attractions drawing residents across the border on weekends, as Hong Kong’s northbound spending trend evolves beyond dining into cultural tourism. Shenzhen recently unveiled a series of ambitious, mega-scale cultural facilities. Among them is the Shenzhen Natural History Museum, boasting 35,200 square metres of exhibition space detailing 4.6 billion years of the Earth’s evolution. For Hongkonger Raymond Leung, who works in the manufacturing industry, the museum’s recent opening on Tuesday, alongside exhibits such as meteorites, was reason enough to plan a weekend trip with three friends. “The museum is the main activity for us. We’ll also get some food together after. There should be lots to see,” Leung told the South China Morning Post in Shenzhen on Saturday. “While you can occasionally see dinosaur fossils in Hong Kong, too, they are not on permanent display like they are here.” The four, who said they were not frequent visitors to Shenzhen, budgeted about 500 yuan (US$74) per person for the day out. Angel Yip, who was also at the museum, said she enjoyed the abundant space the attractions offered relative to Hong Kong for her and her family. She visits Shenzhen about twice a month, spending about 1,000 yuan for each day trip. “There are not as many facilities for children in Hong Kong,” the mother of one said. The educational professional in her thirties travelled from Tseung Kwan O in Hong Kong via the Liantang border checkpoint and arrived at the museum on Saturday at noon with her family and friends – a group of 10 including children. She added that the children were most excited about the 3D cinema, as well as the dinosaur fossils and meteorites. The museum is part of a broader push by the Shenzhen authorities to expand its cultural infrastructure since 2008, with 10 major facilities planned across the city, such as the Shenzhen Library North, which opened in 2023. On the other side of the city stands the Shenzhen International Museum of Art, which opened in May and features an eclectic mix of exhibits, ranging from European masterpieces from Hungary’s national collection to Chinese historical bronze artefacts. Alex Cheung planned a weekend getaway in Shenzhen with his girlfriend, with a visit to the museum specifically to see a painting by French Impressionist painter Claude Monet from the Hungarian collection. “Hong Kong recently had an exhibition featuring his famous works of water lilies, too. Having seen them, I wanted to come see this one here,” the administrative worker in his thirties said, adding that he visits Shenzhen twice a month. He usually stayed for the weekend, spending at least HK$1,000 (US$128) per trip, and would sometimes visit with friends, who were interested in letting their hair down in entertainment complexes that offer activities such as go-karting, trampoline, ice-skating and more under one roof. “Hong Kong doesn’t have such complexes, and even if the activities are on offer, they’re more expensive,” he said, adding that the pair also enjoyed hunting down speciality restaurants and visiting markets for cultural products. Maggie Lai also visited the art museum, located in Guangming district, as part of a day trip with the Hong Kong Institute of Architects to study the buildings and visit the exhibitions. “If it wasn’t for this trip, I would not have planned to visit Shenzhen,” said the architect in her thirties, who came via the Shenzhen Bay border crossing from Hong Kong for the trip, which included a stop at the neighbouring Shenzhen Science and Technology Museum – also newly completed. Fellow architects Alice Lee and Ashley Chiu echoed Lai’s sentiment, saying they were not interested in the typical cross-border activities such as dining and getting massages in Shenzhen, but special exhibitions could entice them. Lai said that she would also go to exhibitions in Hong Kong, such as those at M+ and the Palace Museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District, as her interest was driven by the themes of the shows. The trio said their takeaway from the trip was that it would be difficult to see comparable architecture in Hong Kong because of funding or regulations, while noting that Shenzhen appeared to have more new cultural facilities.

From meteorites to Monet: Shenzhen’s new museums draw Hongkongers beyond dining

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Museum-goers say Shenzhen’s new cultural venues offer exhibitions and scale hard to find in Hong Kong

Museum-goers say Shenzhen’s new cultural venues offer exhibitions and scale hard to find in Hong Kong