The Hong Kong Palace Museum officially opened on Wednesday, with Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam addressing the opening ceremony as the last public event of her tenure, wishing the museum will further enhance Hong Kong residents' national identity.
The Palace Museum opens a window into Chinese history that had been missing for the Hong Kong public, said Hong Kong residents.
The Hong Kong Palace Museum, which is seen as a gift from the Chinese mainland, spans more than 30,000 square meters in the West Kowloon Cultural District, Hong Kong's flagship art quarter and one of the world's largest cultural centers. The project was conceived in 2016, and its foundation stone was laid in May 2018. Construction was completed last month.
Addressing the museum's opening, Lam said that Hong Kong's knowledge and recognition of the motherland's national history needs to be strengthened with the help of the Palace Museum.
"I believe that in the future, it will become a must-visit place for tourists," she said. "I hope that the Hong Kong Palace Museum could apply the advantages of Hong Kong's external ties to tell the story of China and to promote mutual appreciation of Chinese and Western civilizations."
She said that she was honored to make the speech at the museum as the last public event in her 42-year career in public office, and expressed her wishes that the museum would shine and live up to the central government's support.
To welcome the first guests with detailed and authentic ancient Chinese history, the museum prepared over 900 priceless treasures borrowed from the Palace Museum in Beijing.
Of these treasures, about 70 percent are on display for the first time in Hong Kong, including 166 first-class national cultural relics, some of which have never been shown to the public at all before, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
This is the largest loan of exhibits ever by the Palace Museum since its establishment in 1925, said head curator Louis Ng Chi-wa, describing the scale and level of the relics as "unprecedented."
The Hong Kong Palace Museum will also focus on education by hosting seminars, film screenings, art workshops and teacher training sessions.
The Hong Kong Palace Museum opens a window for Hongkongers, Jin Tongtong, Chairman of the Hong Kong Putonghua Professional Association, told the Global Times on Wednesday.
"People in Hong Kong are looking forward to learning about Chinese history and culture," Jin said. "However, even though it's been 25 years since HKSAR's return to the motherland, we lacked a window to truly understand Chinese history and culture."
Jane Cheung, a Hong Kong resident working in an office facing the Hong Kong Palace Museum's site across Victoria Harbour, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the exhibition has become a heated topic.
"Many of my local colleagues have expressed a strong wish to visit the exhibition but found it hard to book a ticket as the exhibition is too popular," Cheung said, noting that she plans to enjoy a visit herself soon.
Heated expectations of the Hong Kong public for the Palace Museum are reflected in the popularity of ticket sales. Nearly 8,000 people were waiting online for tickets on the day they went on sale, and 40,000 tickets were sold on the first day, with many people waiting hours without being able to eventually secure a ticket.
"We need to promote the transmission and dissemination of Chinese culture," Ng said. "Especially for young people, we need to give them more opportunities to understand and appreciate Chinese culture."
"The new museum will make promoting Chinese culture and history education in Hong Kong a priority. The museum will also have partnerships with schools and educational organizations to bring Chinese culture to different communities," said Ng.
The opening of the museum, which is seen as a gift to Hongkongers for the 25th anniversary of HKSAR's return to the motherland, is one of many cultural, arts, recreational and sports events in the celebration.
It is set to officially welcome the general public on July 2. Around 7,000 visitors are expected to head to the museum on the opening day.
"Hong Kong should build more meaningful memorial halls and museums," Jin said. "I suggest especially halls with historical patriotic education, such as the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and modern Chinese history. These memorial halls and museums are especially necessary for the youth of Hong Kong."
