Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong Overview

Located in Wan Chai North, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre is one of the two chief exhibition and convention centres in Hong Kong, along with Asia World-Expo. Present in Hong Kong’s Central Business District, it hosts hundreds of international conferences, local conferences, seminars and exhibitions each year. It is an enormous structure that houses 5 exhibition halls, 2 convention halls, 2 theatres, 52 meeting rooms, 7 restaurants and a business centre.

Opened in 1988, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre is built along the Victoria Harbour covering an area of 3,06,000 square metre and was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP and Wong & Ouyang. The centre served as the venue of the 1997 Hong Kong handover ceremony which marked the end of British colonial rule. CEI Asia magazine awarded the title of ‘Best Convention and Exhibition Centre in Asia-Pacific’ and TTG awarded the title of ‘Best Convention and Exhibition Centre’ to the centre. The remarkable building with an aluminium-clad roof soaring like a bird into the sky is connected to the nearby hotels and commercial buildings by covered walkways.

Events Held at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

The Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre hosts more than 45 international trade fairs every year for buyers from more than 100 countries. The major events held at the centre include:

The 26th Hong Kong International Education and Careers Expo: It is organised by The Chinese Manufacturers’ Association of Hong Kong where they put forward Strong Steering Management Course, provide Efficient negotiation skills training workshop and educate people on how to make their company grow.

HKTDC Hong Kong Book Fair: This fair consists of varied categories of books to interest the visitors such as children and youth books, religious and spiritual books, e-books, e-learning sources, audio-visual material, educational software and various types of stationery and art supplies.

Seafood Expo Asia: The exhibition provides the seafood lovers with a wide range of international good-quality seafood. There are more than 14,000 high volume catering, importers, distributors, wholesalers, supermarkets and restaurants from Asia-Pacific in one location.

HKTDC Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair: The fair exhibits a unique collection of wine, brandy, sparkling wine, spirits, beer, champagne, vodka and whisky from distributors across the globe.

Hong Kong International Stationery Fair: It is the Asia’s key event for stationery where suppliers from different countries and regions present their exquisite stationery products to the visitors from around 120 different countries.

The centre also hosts the annual film expo CineAsia in which all the major Hollywood studios present their production to Asian theatrical industry. There are provisions for video-conference, teleconference, satellite links, audiovisual equipment and simultaneous interpretation in up to eight languages which make the centre a worthy place for the much awaited international events.

Golden Bauhinia Square

The Expo Promenade displays the forever blooming Bauhinia Sculpture (the official flower of Hong Kong), after which it has been named the Golden Bauhinia Square. It is located adjacent to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and was a gift from the Central Government which signified the 1997 handover.

The Golden Bauhinia Square is open for the public all the time and a flag-raising ceremony is held every day at 8:00 AM. The Reunification Monument present near the sculpture contains the inscriptions of President Jiang Zemin, the representative of China at the Handover ceremony.

Facilities and Tips

1. A free Wi-Fi system is present at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre which enables the visitors with an unlimited, complementary and high-speed connection.
2. A full range of amenities is present for people with disabilities. Braille directory and telephone system are installed at the information counters near the entrance gates. Tactile guide paths, specially designed toilets and telephone booths are also present.
3. The centre houses several noteworthy restaurants namely Congress Plus, Golden Bauhinia Cantonese Restaurant, Harbour Kitchen, Harbour Road Cafe, New Shanghai, Port Cafe and Traders.
4. The visitors can also visit the Wan Chai Heritage Trail and the Tai Yuen Street Market which are located in proximity.

How To Reach Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre

MTR: The closest MTR metro station to the centre is Wan Chai Station on the Hong Kong Island Red Line (from where the centre is a 10-minute walk away along the tunnel and walkway).

Bus: Bus numbers 2A, 8, 40, 40M, 960 and 961 can be boarded.
There is a free airport bus service available for the visitors which connects at the Airport Express train service and serves the centre. Finding a taxi to reach the centre is easy and a car parking facility is also available at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Ferry: The Star Ferry offers a direct connection to the centre via Wan Chai Ferry Pier.