The Hong Kong Palace Museum, located in the West Kowloon Cultural District, has recently become a popular must-check spot in Hong Kong. This Museum was officially open to the public in July 2022, a year that marks the 25th anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China. The Museum presents more than 900 treasures, mainly from the Palace Museum in Beijing, China. Many of the objects on loan are exhibited in Hong Kong for the first time, and some have never been presented to the public. This Museum aims to be a hub for cultural exchange between China and the World and, more importantly, to be the bond between mainland China and Hong Kong.
This Museum has nine galleries: five are designed around specific themes that help introduce the culture and history of the Palace Museum; two present art collections in Hong Kong and multimedia programs; and the final two are special exhibitions presenting Chinese art and also the art and treasure from other countries around the same theme for dialogue in culture. In the Museum, the visitors can appreciate the arts and treasures and enjoy the views of the Hong Kong Island skyline and Lantau Island.
I am most impressed by the “Nymph of the Luo River” (Southern Song copy) presented in the special exhibition, a painting based on a poem describing a romance story by Cao Zhi. Among all paintings that illustrate this poem, this version is vibrant as it shows many details that are not found in other versions (e.g., the nymph picking feathers and pearls). In earlier months, the Hong Kong Palace Museum also exhibited another Northern Song copy, allowing visitors to compare and identify their differences. We can find people visiting this Museum several times to observe the differences and further discussing their observations regarding these two copies in local friends’ circles and on personal blogs.
In addition, one gallery that presents treasures themed around horses in China and other parts of the world is fascinating too. Such gallery design allows visitors to observe, identify and compare different understandings and manifestations of horses in different cultures. In particular, we can find earthenware sculptures of horses and riders with “three-colors” (sancai) glaze in this gallery, a very exceptional achievement of horse art in the Han and Tang dynasties in China’s history (see two pictures below).
In a nutshell, this Museum offers very unique and stimulating experiences in art and culture. From time to time, the content and theme of special exhibitions also change as well. So don’t miss out on this Museum when you have a chance to visit Hong Kong.
Jingwen Zheng, Ph.D. in Public Policy Program 2024
Sigur Center 2022 Asian Field Research Fellow
Hong Kong SAR, China
