Situated within Hong Kong’s buzzy SoHo district, the Grade III historic building of PMQ has seen previous lives as the campus of Central School and the Former Police Married Quarters. Traces of its history can be seen in the underground displays of the old granite foundations from the school and six pieces of ceramic tiling and fragments of building materials that were discovered during its refurbishment. Towards the northern end of the PMQ compound are a set of granite steps and a rubble retaining wall that have stood since the opening of the Central School in 1889. These steps once connected the living quarter blocks and the former Central Junior Police Call Clubhouse; they now lead from the main PMQ grounds down to a garden area, where visitors can take in the old trees that have been rooted along Hollywood Road for a century.

To learn more about the former Police Married Quarters on Hollywood Road, head to the galleries on the fifth floor, which showcase the history of the Central School as well as a reinterpretation of a home belonging to a police family in the past. Juxtaposed with the modern iteration of PMQ’s function, visitors can enjoy a deeper understanding of the site’s historical and cultural value.

Since being revitalised, PMQ has become a landmark for Asian design and creativity, providing a creative space for over 100 Hong Kong designers, and hosting various interesting workshops such as fluid art, DIY crochet cushions, mahjong tile painting, silver ring making and singing bowls.

PMQ also organises local and international cultural activities, including the annual design festival deTour, coffee marketplace PMQ Coffee Agenda, as well as the Creative Workshop Series @ PMQ. If you are interested in Hong Kong’s creative scene, this is the place to visit.