University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong

University Museum and Art Gallery, The University of Hong Kong Review

Chinese harp music and a faint smell of incense float through peaceful rooms filled with a small but excellent collection of Chinese antiquities. On view are ceramics and bronzes, some dating from 3,000 BC; fine paintings; lacquerware; and carvings in jade, stone, and wood. Some superb ancient pieces include ritual vessels, decorative mirrors, and painted pottery. The museum has the world's largest collection of Nestorian crosses, dating from the Mongol Period (1280-1368). These belonged to a heretical Christian sect who came to China from the Middle East during the Tang Dynasty (618-907).

There are usually two or three well-curated temporary exhibitions on view; contemporary artists who work in traditional mediums are often featured. Don't miss part of the museum: the collection is spread between the T.T. Tsui Building and the Fung Ping Shan Building, which you access via a first-floor footbridge. The museum is a bit out of the way—20 minutes from Central via Buses 3B, 23, 40, 40 M, or 103, or a 15-minute uphill walk from Sheung Wan MTR—but it's a must for the true Chinese art lover.