Old Police Married Quarters (PMQ)

PMQ, 35 Aberdeen St, Central, Hong Kong.
Without a doubt my new favourite place in Hong Kong. ♥

A complex rich with heritage, from its time as the first government school in Hong Kong to being occupied by the Japanese to just a place to live for junior police officers and their families, the PMQ is now establishing itself as the creative hub of Hong Kong, showcasing a range of independent shops, art exhibitions and places to eat.


From that description alone, it should be pretty easy to see why I fell in love so hard. I wish there were more places like it in the UK, which is why I mentioned being so pleased about the OXO Tower taking on a similar idea (long may it continue to develop).

I felt like I noticed more of the endless Chanel/Gucci/Other Designer Things train than ever before so to find somewhere full of unique shops that were either standalone or part of much smaller chains stocking things that I could actually think about affording made a nice change.

If you're ever in that part of the world, it's more than worth a visit, for the visual merchandising inspiration alone!



Wish I could have done the VM in Open Quote justice, it was probably the most perfect bookshop.







Everything is a candle at Glue Associates.



Naturally the white + teal facade was the PMQ's main appeal as a space.



Hong Kong is the most vertical place in the world so pockets of green space are always welcome.








It really goes to show that modernisation doesn't have to mean tearing down and actually, using the history can make somewhere mean so much more. The main thing the PMQ does that I feel is so brilliant is providing such a great opportunity to emerging artists and start-ups with a seemingly lesser city price tag.

I just want to know why everywhere isn't doing this, everyone should be doing this, right? RIGHT?