Things to do in Hong Kong today

We’re sure bookworms everywhere are already compiling their TBR lists for 2025, so in the spirit of spreading the joy of reading, why not donate some of your old books or tomes from last year’s ‘did not finish’ pile? Swire Properties’ beloved annual charity sale Books for Love @ $10 is coming up later in the year, and they’ve just kicked off the month-long book collection drive. Until January 31, you can drop off pre-loved books at 44 collection points across Hong Kong – just make sure they’re in a good enough condition for sale. Books that are marked, with missing pages, mouldy, or stained will not be accepted, nor will textbooks, magazines, guidebooks, computing books, or fortune-telling books. High-quality children’s books will be available on their online pre-sale from March 25 to April 15, while the eight-day main book sale will take place from May 8 to 18. As always, all proceeds from the Books for Love @ $10 event will go to the Treasure Trove project by The Boys’ & Girls’ Clubs Association of Hong Kong, as well as the Agency for Volunteer Service to develop sustainable volunteerism. Keep an eye on our website for more information when it gets closer to the actual book sale, but for now, start weeding out your personal libraries.

The widely acclaimed theatre play The Truth About Lying, which has had four production reruns, will soon return to the stage again, this time starring the dream team of Dayo Wong Tsz-wah and Carina Lau Ka-ling. This new iteration of the play marks the first time that Wong and Lau will collaborate on stage, despite having been friends for years.  Set in a law firm specialising in family and divorce cases, a middle-class lawyer couple – having witnessed the ugliness of divorce for years – pretend to still be together while actually already estranged in their marriage. But things are thrown into upheaval when a young trainee lawyer starts working at the firm. The Truth About Lying explores the fleetingness of youth, the fragility of marriage, and the paradoxes in love through six men and women.  Catch Wong and Lau in this 40-show run at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, starting on December 13. Tickets range from $480 to $1,280, and priority booking for HSBC credit card holders will run from August 26 to 30, while general sales will begin on September 3.

The Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) is currently holding a joint exhibition with the Palace of Versailles with approximately 150 magnificent pieces to peruse. This is the first time that treasures from the Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles – both World Heritage Sites – will be featured in one exhibition in Hong Kong. With themes spanning culture, arts, science, technology, and beyond in the royal courts of France and China, visitors can expect to admire portraits, porcelain pieces, glassware, enamelware, textiles, books, scientific instruments, and more. Look out for first-grade national treasures from the Palace Museum in Beijing, such as a chrysanthemum teapot gifted to the Qianlong Emperor that was recently discovered to be made in France, and a quiver and bow case with French-made brocade. Highlights flown over from the Palace of Versailles include a perfume fountain – the only Chinese porcelain piece that Louis XV was known to have owned – and a portrait plaque of Qianlong that Louis XVI had displayed in his study. Tickets for this special exhibition are priced at $150, with concessions available. Holders of HKPM’s Full Access Ticket can also access The Origins of Chinese Civilisation exhibition at a combined price of $180.

Japanese artist Seiju Toda, one of the country’s leading art directors, is holding his first solo exhibition in Hong Kong. A lot of Japanese aesthetics and ideas of beauty hinge on minimalism, and in a similar vein, Toda’s body of work focuses on ‘subtraction’ and keeping things simple to allow room for viewers’ imagination. A hint of a fish swimming along a wooden edge, carefully concealed figures in alcoves, light hints of colours – even the very name of the exhibition which, apart from referencing an era in Japan’s middle age, literally means ‘peace’, evokes a sense of calm and quiet. This gallery is open by appointment from Monday to Friday, and available for drop-in visits on Saturdays.