The Hong Kong Planning and Infrastructure Exhibition Gallery
Its name is dry and unpromising, but anyone who has witnessed the SAR's changes over the past few decades will find this museum fascinating -- Hong Kong is a never-ending work in progress. Over the next few decades, the city will continue to develop its tourism, transportation, and urban infrastructure at what seems like breakneck speed. The purpose of this museum is to help visitors visualize those changes through interactive displays, sophisticated computer simulation, and high-tech models that project Hong Kong's new look 2, 10, and 20 years from now. West Kowloon, embraced by a huge canopy to be designed by Norman Foster, will become one of the city's foremost cultural and entertainment centers the site is completed around 2012 (though, it must be added, there is strong local opposition to the proposed project as well, with critics contending it doesn't adequately meet residents' needs). Future and current works include a pedestrian promenade on Hong Kong Island stretching along the waterfront from Central to Causeway Bay; enlarged cargo capacity at the airport; a new town where Kai Tak Airport once stood; a fourth tunnel under the harbor; a new bridge connecting the New Territories to China's Shekou (completed in 2006); and 100km (62 miles) of new highway. There are some fun exhibits, too, including a 3-D flight over Sha Tin in the New Territories, virtual "walks" of the Lung Yeuk Tau and Ping Shan Heritage Trails, and a photo booth that takes your picture with a selected Hong Kong backdrop (like the giant Buddha on Lantau island) and then lets you e-mail it to friends for free. The museum is located on the north side of City Hall and can be toured in about 30 minutes
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| Hours | Wed-Mon 10am-6pm | |
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| Address | 3 Edinburgh Place | |
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| Location | Central | |
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| Transportation | MTR: Central | |
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| Phone | 852/3101 1242 | |
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| Web site | www.info.gov.hk/infrastructuregallery | |
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| Prices | Free admission | |