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Hong Kong 3D Museum, where the focus is on fun

Photo museum's images make great backdrops

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A Bruce Lee-inspired set piece at the 3D museum. Photo: Felix Wong
Cici George

If you're expecting a traditional exhibition when you visit the Hong Kong 3D Museum, you're in for a surprise. The 10,000 sq ft space is relatively small for a museum and the exhibits have little supplementary information except for suggestions on how to pose. But if you're hoping to have a lot of laughs taking offbeat photographs, you've come to the right place. Part of the rationale behind the opening of the space was to offer another tourist attraction, and given the average Hongkongers' passion for photography, it also hits the local sweet spot.

When our family entered, we were confronted with massive paintings that appear three dimensional when photographed, particularly if you pose the right way, which could involve sprawling on the floor. The opportunity to lie down and pull faces was very appealing to my preschoolers, who got right into the spirit of things.

But I was astonished to find myself - usually a reluctant photo subject - feeling the urge to get down and dirty, too. The museum presents a number of typical Hong Kong scenes, from the skyline to planes above the old Kai Tak airport so it does tell a story, though a little more information or context might help it to live up to the "museum" moniker.

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Some backdrops have props such as a bucket or ball for added effect. There are also more general murals such as a picture frame or travel scenes giving you the chance to ride a llama. The males in our family were drawn to a couple of naughty ones involving lying next to a beautiful woman on a beach or urinating in a toilet. Perhaps because we went around Halloween, there were spooky scenes from the Ju-On movie, too.

In addition, there's a mirror maze which my children enjoyed racing in and out of, and a starry sky room. There is a strong element of surrealism throughout the exhibits that is surprisingly relatable in its 3D form. Only at the end of our visit did we spot the little table with props such as masks, horns and wigs that can be borrowed for photos.

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Posing among other people who have the same aim can be tricky, but on the Sunday evening we visited, fellow visitors were fairly cooperative about waiting and not stepping into each other's shots.

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