Hong Kong’s famously futuristic architecture has long set the standard for similar cityscapes rearing up all over Asia, yet its signature harbourside skyline is still the most strikingly beautiful of its kind. There’s also a broad mix of architectural styles here, encompassing Central’s soaring IFC2 tower, Mong Kok’s ramshackle town-housing, traditional clan villages in the New Territories and the centuries-old temples which are dotted around. The accompanying markets and streetlife are compellingly frenetic, while the shopping - though no longer a bargain - offers the chance to directly compare a vast range of products sold everywhere from open-air stalls to hi-tech malls.

Hong Kong is also one of the best places in the world to eat Cantonese food, while the territory’s Western influence means there’s a plentiful selection of bars and nightspots. Surprisingly, Hong Kong’s outlying areas remain fairly undeveloped, with a countryside encompassing beaches, rugged hills, wild coastline and islands - although none of it especially remote - where you can escape the pace and claustrophobia of the downtown areas. Hong Kong’s only real downside is that the overwhelming commercialism and consumption make it hard to engage with the underlying Chinese culture - though you can glimpse it at Happy Valley’s horseraces, Mong Kok’s Bird Market or simply by watching early-morning tai chi practitioners going through their routines in Kowloon Park.

Cultural barriers also drop at the several annual Chinese festivals sprinkling the calendar - Chinese New Year, the Dragon Boat Races and Cheung Chau Bun Festival are the liveliest - when even visitors will find it hard not to become caught up in the action.

January/February

Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) Celebrated for the first two weeks of the first month of the lunar calendar. Red and gold decorations, flower markets, lion and dragon dances and colossal fireworks displays in both Hong Kong and Macau set the tone. The best public spot to see Hong Kong’s harbourside fireworks is at the bottom end of Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. Temples are packed out, too, and families get together to celebrate and eat special “lucky” New Year foods such as noodles (for long life), fish (because the Chinese word sounds the same as that for “surplus”) and crescent dumplings (symbolizing wealth).

Yuen Siu (Spring Lantern Festival) Marks the last day of the Chinese New Year (the fifteenth day of the first moon). Brightly coloured paper lanterns symbolizing the moon are hung in parks, shops, temples and houses. There’s a second lantern festival in September; see “Mid-Autumn Festival”. Good places to see elaborate arrangements are in Victoria and Kowloon parks in Hong Kong.

April/May

Ching Ming At the beginning of the third moon, this is also known as “Grave-sweeping day”. Families place joss sticks, incense and food offerings (roast pork and fruit) at ancestral graves, while prayers are said for the departed souls and blessings sought for the latest generations of the family.

Tin Hau/A-Ma Festival Festival to honour the proctective goddess of the sea (known as Tin Hau in Hong Kong and as A-Ma in Macau), held on the 23rd day of the third lunar month. Fishing boats are colourfully decorated with flags, streamers and pennants, as fishermen and others who follow the goddess gather at Tin Hau temples (especially at Clearwater Bay) to ask for luck and to offer food, fruit and pink dumplings.

Hong Kong’s live music scene revolves around Canto-pop, a Chinese-language version of Western-style pop ballads.

Output is phenomenal - many of the big names routinely record five or more albums per year - and its stars are accorded tremendous status. Live performances, where fans sit waving coloured light sticks and holding message boards for their heroes, sell out months in advance - book before you travel if you’re hoping to catch one.

Other than this, live music is centred on small club performances of jazz and Western rock and pop, though big names do play occasionally - check the press for details.

Hong Kong has several domestic theatre and dance groups, and is visited regularly by international touring companies.

Venues

Academy for Performing Arts 1 Gloucester Rd, Wan Chai T2584 8500. Wan Chai MTR. Box office daily 10am-6pm. Six separate stages for local and international drama, along with modern and classical dance.

City Hall 1 Edinburgh Place, Central T2921 2840. Central MTR. Box office daily 10am-9.30pm. Drama, concerts, recitals, exhibitions and lectures.

Fringe Club 2 Lower Albert Rd, Central T2521 7251. Central MTR. Box office Mon-Sat 10am-10pm. Offbeat venue for cabaret, alternative theatre, jazz, concerts and poetry, as well as exhibitions, classes and workshops. Pick up the schedule from the venue.

Hong Kong Arts Centre 2 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai T2582 0200. Wan Chai MTR. Box office daily 10am-6pm. Local art, drama, concerts, film screenings, galleries and exhibitions.

Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Expo Drive, Wan Chai T2582 8888. Wan Chai MTR. Major conventions, exhibitions, concerts and performances. Box office varies according to the promoter; check press for details.

Hong Kong Cultural Centre 10 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui T2734 2010. Tsim Sha Tsui MTR. Box office daily 10am-9.30pm. Dance, drama and concerts, drawing on local and international performers.

Queen Elizabeth Stadium 18 Oi Kwan Rd, Wan Chai T2591 1346. Wan Chai MTR. Box office daily 10am-6.30pm. Stadium with a 3500 capacity for large concerts and sports events.

Despite a population of just seven million, Hong Kong has the world’s third-largest film industry (after the US and India).

Martial arts, police thrillers, slapstick comedy and romances are the main fare; few directors dabble in anything beyond light entertainment. Cinemas are multiscreen complexes showing a mixture of new Hollywood and local releases - check first that the performance is either in English or subtitled; tickets cost around $55 and are half-price on Tuesday.

Cine-Art House Sun Hung Kai Centre, 30 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai T2827 4820. Wan Chai MTR. Arty foreign films in two mini-cinemas.

Cinematheque Prosperous Garden, Public Square St, Yau Ma Tei www.cinema.com.hk. Yau Ma Tei MTR. New domestic and Hollywood releases, plus slightly arty selection of world cinema classics.

Hong Kong Arts Centre 2 Harbour Rd, Wan Chai T2582 0200. Wan Chai MTR. Seasons of alternative and foreign films plus Chinese cinema.

JP Plaza 22-36 Paterson St, Causeway Bay T2881 5005. Causeway Bay MTR. Current releases at multiscreen complex.

New York Cinema 463-483 Lockhart Rd, Plaza II, Causeway Bay T2838 7380. Causeway Bay MTR. Plush cinema for new Western and Chinese releases.

Palace IFC Mall Central Central MTR. Flash twenty screen complex showing current Western and local productions, plus themed seasons.

Silvercord Cnr Canton and Haiphong roads, Tsim Sha Tsui T2736 6218.

Tsim Sha Tsui MTR. Two screens showing mostly local and Chinese productions, usually subtitled in English.

UA Times Square, Matheson St, Causeway Bay T2506 2822. Causeway Bay MTR. Inoffensive Hollywood, Hong Kong, Japanese and Korean releases for the children/ teen market, usually subtitled.

Cantonese opera is performed at festivals, on religious holidays and in some of Hong Kong’s larger venues by professional troupes. Plots are based on well-known legends and stories, and the performances feature garish makeup, glass-cracking vocals and crashing percussion often bewildering to novices, though bouts of elaborate sword fighting and acrobatics are enjoyable. Other cultural shows include traditional music, puppet theatre, folk dancing, acrobatics, magic and martial arts.

Street markets and festivals are good places to look for informal shows, or ask at tourist offices about big-venue performances.