Hong Kong Palace Museum: a world-class cultural landmark showcasing priceless treasures

Hong Kong’s latest world-class cultural landmark, the Hong Kong Palace Museum, has officially opened after five years in the making.

Located on a 13,000-square-metre site at the western tip of the West Kowloon Cultural District, the Hong Kong Palace Museum comprises nine galleries and presents nearly 1,000 priceless treasures from the Palace Museum in Beijing. Must-see items include the dragon robe worn by Qing Emperor Kangxi, as well as the precious painting, Nymph of the Luo River (Northern Song copy) *.

* The mentioned artwork will be unveiled from 3 August to 4 September 2022, during the second rotation of the exhibition in Gallery 8.

Designed by acclaimed Hong Kong architect Rocco Yim, the Hong Kong Palace Museum combines traditional Chinese architecture with contemporary aesthetics and innovative technology. It leverages new technology to not only connect the past to the present, but also bring together art and culture lovers from around the world.

One major architectural highlight of the museum is the ‘vertical central axis’, inspired by the central axis of the Forbidden City. Three atriums, each faces a different direction, connect different floors vertically and guide visitors to move upward. The translucent, beige-gold ceilings of the atriums resemble bamboo or gauze curtains — a contemporary interpretation of the glazed roof tiles on top of the grand palaces inside the Forbidden City.

The Hong Kong Palace Museum boasts a total of 914 exquisite treasures on loan from the Palace Museum — the largest loan outside the mainland made by the latter ever. The majority of these objects are exhibited in Hong Kong for the first time, including 166 grade-one objects which are classified as ‘national treasures’. Among the opening exhibitions, ‘The Making of Masterpieces: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Palace Museum’ will run for three months, bringing together 35 rare and iconic works dating back to the Tang and Sung dynasties. These works include the painting Nymph of the Luo River (Northern Song copy) which depicts the romantic story between prince Cao Zhi and the nymph during the Three Kingdoms period, the majestic painting Autumn Colours over Rivers and Mountains, as well as the calligraphic work Copy of the Orchid Pavilion Preface in Running Script*. Another exhibition ‘Grand Gallop: Art and Culture of the Horse’, showcasing, among others, 13 precious art objects loaned from the Musée du Louvre in Paris, will last for six months.

* All three mentioned artworks will be unveiled from 3 August to 4 September 2022, during the second rotation of the exhibition in Gallery 8.

A large quantity of the precious objects on display originate from the Forbidden City in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Three thematic exhibitions — ‘Entering the Forbidden City: Architecture, Collection, and Heritage’, ‘From Dawn to Dusk: Life in the Forbidden City’ and ‘Encountering the Majestic: Portraits of Qing Emperors and Empresses’ — invite you to catch a glimpse at the court life during the Ming and Qing dynasties. You will also be able to view the court robe worn by Qing Emperor Kangxi, as well as the imperial seal with a coiling dragon.

Two other exhibitions, ‘Clay to Treasure: Ceramics from the Palace Museum Collection’ and ‘The Quest for Originality: Contemporary Design and Traditional Craft in Dialogue’, display historial artefacts and innovative handicrafts respectively and allow you to discover the beauty of Chinese handicrafts from different perspectives.

The opening exhibitions also feature two Hong Kong-themed galleries. ‘Private to Public: The History of Chinese Art Collecting in Hong Kong’ surveys over a century of Chinese art collecting in the city and highlights the history of local museum development. ‘No Boundaries: Reinterpreting the Palace Museum Culture’ presents six local multi-media and inter-disciplinary artists’ new works that reinterpret the art and culture of the Forbidden City from a fresh perspective.

Visiting all galleries in the museum will definitely take you a whole day. If you want to take a break, simply head to the museum’s food and beverage outlets, which include popular joints like Cupping Room, the French eatery Crepes & Bakes, as well as Jin Ya Ju Noodle Bar, a well-known brand in Shanghai.

You can also enjoy panoramic views of Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour and further explore the city’s world of arts in neighbouring facilities such as M+, Xiqu Centre, Art Park, and Freespace.

To visit, you can register or purchase tickets on the website of the Hong Kong Palace Museum or the West Kowloon Cultural District, or you can use the West Kowloon Cultural District app or the online platform of ticketing partners. You can also enjoy free admission to the museum (except special exhibitions and events) every Wednesday in the first 12 months of opening with prior registration. For details, please refer to the museum’s website.

Address: Hong Kong Palace Museum, West Kowloon Cultural District, 8 Museum Drive, Kowloon
For opening hours and transport details, please visit:
https://www.hkpm.org.hk/en/home