Hong Kong Palace Museum hosts exhibition about Old Summer Palace's legacy

A special exhibition featuring the Old Summer Palace (once-magnificent Qing Dynasty imperial garden-palace), or "Yuanmingyuan," commenced at the Hong Kong Palace Museum on Tuesday.

Titled "Yuanmingyuan - Art and Culture of an Imperial Garden-Palace," the exhibition features more than 190 artifacts including paintings, calligraphy and architectural models, with the vast majority of these artifacts being exhibited in Hong Kong for the first time to highlight "the life and aesthetic tastes of the emperors, festivals, and the relationship between members of the imperial family," according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency.

The exhibition reproduces the scenery of the Yuanmingyuan from days gone by utilizing multimedia technology.

Visitors are allowed to discover the achievements of imperial garden-palace design, stories about the garden's principal residents, and the history of the Qing imperial court, said the report.

Deputy Chief Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government Cheuk Wing-hing expressed hopes during the opening ceremony that the exhibition would help deepen the understanding of national history and culture among citizens in Hong Kong and the mainland, especially the younger generations.

The exhibition marks the second event featuring artifacts from the Palace Museum following its inaugural exhibition in 2022. Deputy Director of the Palace Museum Du Haijiang said that the Palace Museum (in Beijing) will continue to maintain close cooperation with the Hong Kong Palace Museum in the future, actively promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture.

The exhibition includes artifacts unearthed in recent archaeological excavations, many of which are being displayed outside Yuanmingyuan for the first time, according to Qiu Wenzhong, director of the Yuanmingyuan Administration Office.

Jointly organized by the Hong Kong Palace Museum, the Palace Museum and the Yuanmingyuan Administration Office of Beijing's Haidian district, the exhibition is open to the public from Wednesday to August 12.