Hong Kong Christmas Lights 2026: Where to See Them (Central, TST & Causeway Bay)

The Hong Kong Christmas lights 2026 season starts on Wednesday 18 November and runs to Tuesday 5 January 2027, and this year it is spread across three districts instead of one. The Tourism Board's WinterFest puts free light shows in Central, on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront and in Causeway Bay, where last year it had Central alone. Around them, the malls and Tsim Sha Tsui East switch on their own displays from mid-November.

One thing changes for good this year. A Symphony of Lights, the 8pm harbour show that has run since 2004, plays for the last time on 18 November (my guide to where to watch the Symphony of Lights has the spots for that final night). So if you are visiting in December, the Christmas shows below are the harbour light show. Dates and times here are the ones published by the organisers and the local press as of mid-November 2026. Where something has not been announced, I say so.

Where to see the Hong Kong Christmas lights in 2026, at a glance

• Central (Statue Square): 22-metre tree, Christmas Town and a light show on nine buildings. 18 November to 5 January. Shows every 30 minutes, 7pm to 11pm. Free.
• Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront: projections on the Cultural Centre, Clock Tower, Space Museum and Museum of Art. 18 November to 5 January, 7pm to 11pm. Free.
• Causeway Bay (Lee Gardens streets): elf village and building projections. 25 November to 3 January, 7pm to 10pm. Free.
• Tsim Sha Tsui East: more than 200,000 lights over Mody Lane from 17 November, plus lit facades on Tsim Sha Tsui Centre and Empire Centre, 6pm to 11pm daily until 3 January.
• Malls: ifc and Landmark from 20 November, Pacific Place from 13 November, Tai Kwun's tree from 1 December.

Central: the Christmas Town and the main light show

This is the one to see if you only have time for one. Statue Square Gardens, outside Central MTR Exit K, becomes a Christmas Town with a 22-metre tree, a 12-metre steam train and a Santa post office. Entry is free.

The town opens at 8pm on 18 November. After that the hours are 4pm to 11.30pm on weekdays and 11am to 11.30pm on weekends. It stays open until 1.30am on 24 to 26 December and from 31 December to 2 January.

The light show is projected on nine buildings around the square and runs every 30 minutes from 7pm to 11pm. On those same late nights it carries on until 1am. You watch it from the gardens, so there is no ticket and no seat to book. I would pick a weekday evening over a weekend if you have the choice. A free show in the middle of Central does not stay quiet on a Saturday.

The Christmas market in the same gardens runs from 18 November to 3 January, mainly Thursday to Sunday: 4pm to 8pm on Thursdays, 4pm to 9pm on Fridays, and noon to 10pm on weekends and public holidays. The stalls shut before the last light show on most nights, so shop first.

Central's malls are a short walk away. ifc mall's airport-themed display runs from 20 November to 1 January, 10.30am to 10pm daily, on Podium Level 1. Landmark's atrium display, built around the 1930s Gloucester Hotel that once stood on the site, runs from 20 November to 3 January, 10.30am to 7.30pm, and stays open until 9pm on 24, 25, 26, 27 and 31 December. Up the hill, Tai Kwun puts a 12-metre tree on its Parade Ground from 1 December to 3 January. Entry to the compound is free.

Tsim Sha Tsui: the waterfront projections

Across the harbour, three shows sit within a few minutes' walk of each other. The Cultural Centre and the Clock Tower get an animated Christmas concert. The Space Museum's dome is turned into a snow globe, with more than 7,000 lit spheres on the ground in front of it. The Museum of Art gets a northern-lights projection.

All three run from 18 November to 5 January, 7pm to 11pm, and until 1am on 24 to 27 December and 1 to 2 January. Two catches: the shows are partly suspended on 28 to 30 December, and there is no show at all on 31 December, when the waterfront is given over to the New Year countdown.

Keep walking east for Tsim Sha Tsui East, which has had Christmas lights since 1983. This year more than 200,000 bulbs hang over Mody Lane from 17 November, and the facades of Tsim Sha Tsui Centre and Empire Centre are lit from 6pm to 11pm daily until 3 January. Harbour City usually has large displays on its seaside forecourt, but its 2026 theme and dates had not been announced when I wrote this. For what else is nearby, see my guide to things to do in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Causeway Bay, Wan Chai and Admiralty

Causeway Bay starts a week later than the other two, on 25 November, and runs to 3 January. An elf story is projected on buildings along Lan Fong Road and Pak Sha Road from 7pm to 10pm, with lights along Yun Ping Road and Hysan Avenue. There is a 40-metre outdoor bar on Hysan Avenue, open from 5.30pm from 26 November. A Christmas market is due from mid-December, but the dates have not been published.

In Wan Chai, Lee Tung Avenue lights up from 19 November, from 6pm each evening. In Admiralty, Pacific Place's indoor display opened on 13 November and runs to 3 January, which makes it the one to pick on a wet night.

A one-evening route

You can cover both sides of the harbour in one evening. Start in Tsim Sha Tsui East just after 6pm, when Mody Lane and the facades come on. Walk the waterfront west to the Museum of Art and Space Museum for 7pm, then the Cultural Centre and Clock Tower.

From there the Star Ferry pier is next door. Take the ferry to Central, which gives you the skyline from the water for a few dollars (current fares are in my Star Ferry price guide). Walk to Statue Square for an 8.30pm or 9pm show, and you still have until 11.30pm in the Christmas Town.

Causeway Bay is best kept for a separate night with dinner, since its projections stop at 10pm. If you are planning the whole month, my December in Hong Kong guide has the weather and the other events.

Quick answers

Is the Hong Kong light show every day? The nightly Symphony of Lights ends with a final 8pm show on 18 November 2026, with added pyrotechnics. From then until 5 January, the WinterFest shows in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui run every evening instead, apart from the Tsim Sha Tsui pause around New Year's Eve. The Tourism Board says new light festivals will follow in stages during 2027.

When do the Christmas lights turn on in Hong Kong in 2026? Pacific Place opened on 13 November. Tsim Sha Tsui East starts on 17 November, WinterFest in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui on 18 November, Lee Tung Avenue on 19 November, ifc and Landmark on 20 November, Causeway Bay on 25 November and Tai Kwun on 1 December.

Are the Christmas lights free? Yes. The WinterFest Christmas Town, all the outdoor light shows and the mall displays are free to walk into. You pay only for extras, such as ifc's Santa visit, which is a HK$200 charity donation and has to be booked.

What time is the Central Christmas light show? Every 30 minutes from 7pm to 11pm, from 19 November to 5 January. Opening night on 18 November starts at 8pm. On 24 to 26 December and 31 December to 2 January it runs until 1am.

What is on in Hong Kong at Christmas besides the lights? The Central and Stanley Christmas markets, Hong Kong Disneyland's Christmas season from 20 November to 3 January, and the New Year's Eve fireworks over Victoria Harbour on 31 December. The fireworks time and viewing arrangements had not been announced at the time of writing.