A meandering bus journey up to the Peak Tower plunges you into a crowd of tourists chattering in English, Korean and Mandarin. They are there for the view, but also for something new: an exhibition of miniature artworks that depict Hong Kong in the past while also capturing the beating heart and soul of the city today.
Among the sea of visitors stands a defiant and enthusiastic figure: Carmen Poon, founder and president of the Joyful Miniature Association (JMA), which organised Hong Kong: Through the Looking Glass Miniature Exhibition, which runs until June 23. Since the association was founded in 2013, it has organised many shows around the world, from the United States to Japan to several places in mainland China, as well as in Hong Kong itself. Since becoming a registered NGO last year, it now qualifies for public funding, which could ensure there will be further exhibitions in the future.
The association has already had plenty of success, including last year’s Look Closer and Wonder: Central and Western District in Miniature showcase at Pacific Place. Its new show features 24 artworks spread across two floors of the Peak Tower, including seven new creations that recreate the Kai Tak Stadium, the Kowloon Walled City, the Temple Street night market, Ngong Ping 360, the Happy Valley racecourse, Goldfish Street and the Western District waterfront. Other exhibits depict festivals like the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance, long-gone landmarks like the Kai Tak Airport.
Poon describes the exhibition as a “love letter to Hong Kong,” which she believes is “one of the most beautiful and interesting cities in the world.” She expects the exhibition to attract more than 200,000 visitors and hopefully inspire the mainly international audience to explore each real-life location depicted in the miniatures.
But it’s not just for tourists: the exhibition includes pieces that evoke meaningful cultural memories and shared experiences for locals, bridging generations and reflecting traditions and scenes that are rapidly changing or disappearing. Like a time machine, these miniatures transport viewers between past and present, inviting both visitors and residents to connect with Hong Kong’s evolving identity beyond language or cultural barriers.
To bring them to life, a careful balancing act was needed to weigh different aspects such as cultural significance, audience interest and feasibility. For a more detailed piece like one depicting Victoria Harbour, Poon says more than 100 artisans were brought together, with skills like architectural planning, sculpting, painting and electrical work. Each artwork required about nine months to produce: six months for research and planning and three months were used for final assembly. To maximise efficiency, crowd figures from the Temple Street piece were adapted from an older model of Lee Tung Avenue.
Let’s dive into some of these artworks, which we’ve grouped into three main categories.
Lively neighbourhoods
Hong Kong’s neighbourhoods represent the city’s layered history, blending architectural influences from China, Europe and beyond, with a constantly evolving interplay between old and new. Take Pottinger Street for example: affectionately known as Stone Slab Street (石板街), with its atmosphere found in its traditional cobbled paving and hawker stalls selling seasonal decorations. Or take Temple Street, the city’s largest night market, with its seamy and seductive mix of boisterous restaurants, souvenir stalls, clothing shops and more adult fare.
Goldfish Street
Poon says this is her favourite diorama in the exhibition. It captures the quintessential spirit of Hong Kong’s aquarium hub on Tung Choi Street in Mongkok, where vendors have sold goldfish since the 1950s. The artists have flexed their craft by sculpting resin clay fish pieces smaller than one centimetre – meticulously attaching fins, carving tail patterns and applying glazes of various hues. Each fish’s posture must be carefully adjusted before pouring layers of resin water. A single mistake could result in broken fins or air bubbles ruining the scenes.
Victoria Harbour
Poon considers which piece is most personal to her. “The Victoria Harbour one, because I invested my apartment funds!” she says with a chuckle. A detailed depiction of Hong Kong’s panoramic skyline with over 400 buildings and fireworks, this monumental work was completed by a large team over two years. It captures the essence of Hong Kong as the Pearl of the Orient, featuring landmarks like the Bank of China Tower and Two International Financial Centre.
Kai Tak Sports Park
“The most challenging piece was the Kai Tak Sports Park,” explains Poon. Having coordinated with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, Poon secured site visits before the park’s opening this March and persuaded Emperor Entertainment Group to grant rights to include screens showing Nicholas Tse Ting-fung’s concert footage in the miniature stadium. Her team painstakingly hand-glued 50,000 individual crowd figures — each measuring five to six millimetres tall — onto the curved stadium stands. Alongside these spectators, stage lasers and glowing lights were added to further create a lively concert scene.
Lan Kwai Fong
Lan Kwai Fong, a famous nightlife hotspot, is vividly captured in miniature. The artists created a rich Halloween carnival scene filled with many characters, including Allan Zeman, the chairman of the Lan Kwai Fong Group, who developed the formerly secluded street into the centre of Hong Kong nightlife. Though this area is not as bustling as it once was, with quieter nightlife in general and rival destinations like Knutsford Terrace and Peel Street, this piece invites viewers to discover different movie characters hidden in the work, like Spiderman or Player 001 from Korean thriller series Squid Game.
Kowloon Walled City
Inspired by photos in acclaimed photographer Greg Girard’s book City of Darkness, the artists used them as a foundation for the Kowloon Walled City piece, which illustrates the chaotic urban enclave with crammed shops, narrow alleys and layered homes. The Walled City was demolished in 1994, but interest in its complex identity as a haven for the criminal underworld and self-governed community has been sparked by the 2024 film Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, as well as renewed attention for Girard’s work.
Poon says there is one crucial piece missing from this model. She asked Cathay Pacific if it would consider sponsoring a model airplane that would fly over the miniature Walled City, but the airline declined. Poon is determined to eventually secure funding for what she considers an essential addition to the piece.
Temple Street
The neon-drenched atmosphere of Hong Kong’s largest night market was captured in Stephen Chow Sing-chi’s 1996 movie The God of Cookery, and it’s replicated in the Night Vibes Temple Street model, which captures the dai pai dong-style restaurants, live performers, hawker stalls, open-air karaoke and nightclubs that line this densely-packed street that is fun, seedy and nostalgic.
Western District Pier
A snapshot of Western District Pier during the 1970s, which was a period of bustling entrepôt trade. This is shown through the iconic number 120 tram (the only early postwar tram model still in service), labourers hauling cargo from lighters at the harbourfront and the Po Chai Pills (bou2 zai2 jyun2 保仔丸) neon sign heralds the city’s golden age of Chinese medicine.
Peak Tram
This Peak Tram’s fifth-generation red tramway (the most recent sixth generation is green) ascends Victoria Peak, showcasing the blend of architectural styles found along its station, with colonial-era lampposts and Lion’s Point View Pavilion, with its Chinese-style pagoda. Dynamically moving up and down, this artwork offers an authentic and tangible experience into one of Hong Kong’s beloved tourist symbols.
Stone Slab Street
In a city where Western festivals are also observed, Pottinger Street or Stone Slab Street is transformed into a warm Christmas setting. Along the foreground, festive lights and characters adorn the historic black railing, while the small shops selling different things like little Christmas trees, hand-crocheted socks and shoes lay in the background.
Local heritage
Hong Kong’s intangible cultural heritage unites the local community and creates a sense of common identity in say, ritual practices like worshipping the God of Literature (man4 coeng1 文昌) and God of Martial Arts (mou5 dai3 武帝) in Man Mo Temple or festivals like the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance during Mid-Autumn.
Man Mo Temple
To make the Man Mo Temple miniature, artists Ian Choi, Tim Ho and the JMA team conducted extensive field visits and research to accurately capture architectural and cultural details in a scale of 1:20, from the ceramic roof decorations to the over a hundred spiralling incense sticks tied with red ropes. The result is an accurate model that pays tribute to this 170-year-old place of worship.
Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance
What’s the best cultural representation of Hong Kong’s history and heritage? “That’s a tough one,” says Poon. After some thought, she names the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance. Like the recent pandemic, it tells a relatable story of resilience and communal spirit, dating back over 140 years when Hakka villagers fought misfortune and a devastating plague. To recreate the dragon’s authentic look artist Tony Lai personally gathered seaweed to create 3,000 incense sticks that were placed across the dragon’s body.
Beloved local eateries and shops
Traditional eateries and shops preserve Hong Kong’s culinary heritage. Recipes passed down generations in herbal tea shops or unique dining experiences in bing sutts continue to define the city‘s unique identity.
Maxim’s Palace
Maxim’s Palace is one of Hong Kong’s few remaining dim sum restaurants where food is served from traditional trolleys and stamps are collected on order cards. Set in a grand dining hall overlooking Victoria Harbour, the eatery offers an authentic experience that attracts both locals and tourists eager to savour classic Cantonese cuisine.
Kim Kee Pastry
Kim Kee Pastry (gam1 gei3 beng2 gaa1 金記餅家) is a traditional Chinese pastry shop that serves different pastries like walnut cookies and wife cakes. Looking into this piece, you can spot the assorted pastries from ready-made treats to dough in the making, alongside the shop cat, collectively reflecting artist Vivian Lee’s playful tribute to these stores that keep the traditional pastry making art and legacies of local family businesses alive.
Hong Kong Salon
Hong Kong’s traditional hair salons, like Wan Chai’s Oi Kwan Barbers, are more than just cinematic backdrops. As shown in this work, with collapsible chairs and spinning barber poles, these shops preserve classic grooming techniques passed down through generations, offering unique and affordable services such as massages and nail clipping. Amid redevelopment pressures and changing lifestyles, they remain vital symbols of Hong Kong’s craftsmanship heritage and community spirit.
Bing Sutt
Embellished in dotted wallpaper and tile preserving the romantic 20th-century dining experience, this bing sutt (traditional ice cafés) work illustrates typical food and drinks that can be found – from heartwarming drinks like milk tea to dishes like French toast and pastries like egg tarts found at the shop front.
Lan Ting Yuen
The Lan Ting Yuen (laan4 ding1 jyun4 蘭丁園) model is based on a well-known cha chaan teng — Hong Kong-style diners with international cuisine influences — capturing its lively ambiance and iconic green iron façade. Meticulously crafted over various classic foods and drinks, including silk stocking milk tea to pork chop buns in meticulous detail, viewers can appreciate the city’s beloved blend of food cultures.
Herbal Tea Shop
Herbal tea shops offer medicinal teas with recipes passed down generations, blending wellness with culinary culture. These shops still sell these drinks served out of metal dispensers and porcelain bowls, as shown in this piece.
Looking over the models, Poon says she would like to create a permanent miniature museum in Hong Kong and donate pieces to schools such as her alma mater Heep Woh College, ensuring the next generation shares the same passion and knowledge for her beloved city.
“I want to show my feelings for Hong Kong,” she says, emphasising that the project isn’t about making money. “Like in my company’s name, Joyful Miniature Association, I want to bring joy to our visitors who come back again and again. It’s communal joy I’m after.”
Hong Kong: Through the Looking Glass runs until June 23, 2025 at the Peak Tower. Click here for more information.