PMQ

PMQ is a pair of long 1950s blocks built as married quarters for police officers on a Central hillside, on a site that had earlier held a school, and after standing empty for years they were converted and opened in 2014 as a home for small design businesses. The original plan survives: the flats are now around a hundred studios and shops opening onto external corridors around a covered courtyard, occupied by jewellers, ceramicists, leather workers, illustrators and clothing designers, many of whom work in the units. Excavated foundations of the earlier school are displayed in a basement gallery. Markets, pop-ups and exhibitions fill the courtyard, and entry is free.

What you actually see

• Studios in former flats - a hundred units on open corridors.
• Makers working in the units - jewellers, ceramicists and leather workers.
• The excavated school foundations - the earlier site shown in the basement.
• Courtyard markets and pop-ups - the changing programme in the middle.

When to go

Year round. Two to three hours. Weekends bring markets and the fullest occupancy; some studios close on Mondays. Evenings are quieter.

Honest expectations

Occupancy varies and some units are shut or empty on any given day. Prices in the design shops are high. It is a shopping destination more than a cultural one. The hill approach is steep from Sheung Wan.

Nearby

Tai Kwun is a short walk east; Sheung Wan lies below.