The Leisure and Cultural Services of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government on Thursday signed the second Letter of Intent on Cultural Exchange and Cooperation with the Palace Museum.
Under the new agreement, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Palace Museum will strengthen the cooperation and communication in preserving and showcasing cultural heritage established with the signing of the first Letter of Intent in 2012.
Under the five-year plan, the two sides will continue to stage thematic exhibitions featuring artefacts from the Palace Museum in Hong Kong every year.
In addition to sharing their expertise and experiences in various areas including collection preservation and management as well as academic research, the two sides will also establish a mechanism for cooperation in personnel training for museum professionals by organizing thematic forums, academic seminars and training programs.
The two sides will also enhance public understanding of history, culture and arts through education and extension activities including exchange and internship programs for young people.
Starting in 2018, a new range of events and activities will see the Leisure and Cultural Services Department continue to collaborate with the Palace Museum in promoting Chinese culture. A new series of educational programs for students and other members of the public entitled "Traversing the Forbidden City" will be rolled out to feature an array of activities in the coming five years.
Under specific themes to be set out each year, a wide range of diverse and creative programs such as roving exhibitions, interactive theatrical performances, hands-on workshops and competitions will be launched to introduce aspects of ancient imperial architecture, collections, historic relics and stories of the Forbidden City from different angles.
These will enable students and members of the public to learn more about traditional Chinese culture through looking at the Forbidden City from various perspectives, and promote Hong Kong arts and culture.
Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum, signed the letter of Intent with Director of Leisure and Cultural Services Michelle Li.
Shan also gave a thematic talk entitled "The culture horizon of Hong Kong culture Palace Museum" at the Hong Kong Science Museum, in which he spoke about his experiences in enhancing exhibition curation and customer services.
