A sea of colorful balloons and a 7-meter-tall Brown Bear！The ultimate lazy guide to Hong Kong’s must-visit Christmas spots is super extravagant

▲The must-visit Christmas spots in Hong Kong in 2017. (Video footage by reporter Cao Yuehua)

▲Hong Kong Harbour City’s Christmas installation features a sea of colorful balloons. (Photo by reporter Cao Yuehua, same below.)

Reported and photographed by reporter Cao Yuehua / Hong Kong

This year’s Christmas in Hong Kong is going to be amazing！As the holiday approaches, the decorations around the city are creatively unique— there’s a vibrant and romantic sea of balloons, a scene where Brown Bear transforms into an astronaut, and even a giant 3-meter carousel. The over-the-top designs have successfully captured everyone’s hearts. ETtoday News Cloud personally visited the 5 most eye-catching spots and compiled this“lazy guide to Hong Kong’s Christmas photo hotspots”. After seeing these, you’ll want to fly to Hong Kong right away！

▲A 7-meter-tall snow-white soaring Brown Bear is one of the highlights of this year’s Christmas at Langham Place.

1. Langham Place

Located at the main entrance and on the 4th floor of Langham Place, theLINE FRIENDS CHRISTMAS PLANETinstallation, which cost seven figures in Hong Kong dollars,is themed around outer space and takes the unprecedented step of sending LINE’s iconic characters on a fantastical adventure through the cosmos.Visitors can not only explore five dreamlike zones (CHOCO and You Making a Wish Under the Stars, Starry Sky Castle, Moonlight Gate, Starlight Lovers’ Bridge, and Cloud Swing) but also design their own personalized LINE FRIENDS planet. There's even a VR experience where you can play games with Brown Bear and take a little boat ride across the galaxy on a star-gathering journey.

▲Visitors can design their own LINE FRIENDS planet, and the photos will be projected on-screen.

Among them, the “Starry Sky Castle” is the most eye-catching installation. A 7-meter-long white inflatable Brown Bear soars above the castle, and visitors can also step into the 9-meter-high Starry Sky Castle to unleash their creativity by designing their own LINE FRIENDS planet. Once approved by the Star Command, your planet can be featured on the Star Heroes leaderboard, officially making you a star traveler and preserving your “photo” for eternity！

Location: Sky Plaza on the 4th floor of Langham Place and the entrance of x5 Lan Street
Event Dates: Now until 2018/1/1
Opening Hours: 11:00–23:00 (extended to 1:00 AM on 12/16–12/24 and 12/31)

▲The Light Shadow Swing Board at New Town Plaza. (Photo provided by New Town Plaza)

2. New Town Plaza

The 20,000-square-foot amusement area on the 7th floor of New Town Plaza has been transformed into a red-and-pink wonderland under the theme“Rosy Christmas @ Starlight Garden – Red and Pink Dream Park.”It featuresa carousel, spinning Ferris wheel, flower wall maze, dreamy hot air balloons, a light-shadow swing board, and a starlight bubble wishing fountain, bringing a fairytale-like wonderland right before your eyes and fully immersing you in a romantic “bubble” of starlight.。

▲The entire zone is dominated by pink, perfect for couples wanting to share sweet moments. (Photo provided by New Town Plaza)

This area highlights the “Red and Pink Dream Park,” gathering popular Instagram-worthy fashion elements to create 7 dreamy pilgrimage spots. The “Millennial Pink Christmas Backyard” includes a 30-foot-tall pink treehouse, neon-themed walls, and happy pink broom grass. It’s not just perfect for couples, but also a new go-to spot for girl squad photos.

Location: Starlight Garden, 7th Floor, Phase I, New Town Plaza
Event Dates: Now – January 14, 2018
Opening Hours: 12:00 – 22:00

▲ The three spaceships inside Harbour City are highly eye-catching. (Photo / Reporter Cao Yuehua, the same below.)

3. Harbour City

Hong Kong Harbour City’s Christmas installations are always highly anticipated each year, and this year’s theme is “Christmas in the Air!”,centered around the concept of “flying,” transforming into an aerial city. Three giant Christmas spaceships will take visitors on a journey through the starry sky, with the most striking being the massive Christmas spaceship parked in the center of the square. It is 20 meters long and over 7 meters high, featuring propeller-style carousels at both the front and back that are constantly spinning, along with more than two thousand LED lights twinkling brightly — perfect for taking photos on board.

▲ The Christmas balloon cabin is a six-day limited-time event.

Another highlight is the “Christmas Balloon Cabin,” which is sure to ignite your inner child. The 9-square-meter space is filled with nearly a hundred colorful balloons, and it is available only on Saturdays and Sundays. By making a HK$60 donation to the Hong Kong Leukaemia Foundation on-site, you can take as many photos as you like inside and even take home one balloon. It’s a great way to give back while satisfying your photo-taking desires.

Location: Open-air Plaza, Ocean Terminal, Harbour City
Event Dates: Now – January 1, 2018
Opening Hours: 10:00 – 22:00

▲ This year, Landmark has adopted a dreams-themed design, filled with a fairytale atmosphere throughout.

4. Landmark

Different from last year’s circus theme, this year’s Christmas theme at Landmark is “Unlock YourImagination” –where you can step into the ideal world in children’s hearts together with Santa’s little bear.Dream Square is where they share their Christmas wishes and blessings; Aqua Island provides endless clean water to those in need; Great Fruit Garden represents the small seeds planted that grow into bountiful fruits to nourish the world; Wishes in the Clouds features Santa’s little deer running through the clouds; Recycle Depot gives new life to old electronics and junk, creating robot friends called Robo; and Homegrown City offers shelter from wind and rain for its residents.

▲ Look up to discover delightful surprises.

As you wander through this dream-inspired space, it feels like stepping into a miniature fairy tale kingdom. Look up and you’ll find more surprises — characters riding planes and boats float by. Visitors can also enjoy mini performances that take place every half hour, which will have you swaying to the music and immersing yourself in the joyful Christmas atmosphere.

Location: Landmark
Event Dates: Now – January 1, 2018
Opening Hours: 10:00 – 22:00 (a mini SHOW is held every half hour starting at 10:00)

▲ 1881 features a giant carousel, paired with blue skies for an incredibly dreamy vibe.

5.1881 Heritage

This year, 1881 has created a grand Christmas installation themed “Jolly Rockin’Xmas,” featuring a 13-meter-high European-style retro shop in the center of the open-air plaza. The exterior of the shop is designed with faux stone walls and a golden rooftop, showcasing the look of a traditional, opulent European boutique, with even more decorations than in previous years.Atop the roof sits a giant automatically swinging carousel and a slowly rotating Ferris wheel, complemented by various uniquely shaped small carousels nearby, making visitors feel as if they’ve stepped into a dreamy theme park and are immersed in a nostalgic, romantic holiday atmosphere.。

▲The square features elaborately designed European-style shops, and stepping inside immerses you in a rich British atmosphere.

It’s worth mentioning that, for the first time, a large wooden horse has been placed on the fountain. Standing at 3 meters tall and gently swaying automatically, the giant horse creates an illusion of being in a retro European era. Against the backdrop of the azure sky and warm sunlight, every photo taken here looks incredibly dreamy.

Location: 1881 Heritage Open Square
Event Dates: Now – January 4, 2018
Opening Hours: No specific opening hours for outdoor venues