The Beijing Palace Museum, located in the heart of the Forbidden City, contains the largest collection of Chinese art in the world, spanning nearly 5,000 years of history. Now, more than 900 of these treasures are on display in Hong Kong’s new Palace Museum — a “gift” from the central government to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the city’s handover from British to Chinese rule. While there is nothing overtly political about its collection — at least by modern standards — the museum sparked controversy when it was first announced by outgoing Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam in late 2016, in part because of an apparent lack of public consultation before the project was green-lit. The Palace Museum’s long-term loan, which includes rare paintings, calligraphy, ceramics, jade and more from its 1.8 million collection, is “unprecedented on every level,” says the Hong Kong museum’s chairman, Bernard Chan. “It’s the first time that large quantities of these national treasures have been moved to another cultural institution, so you can imagine the complexity behind it,” he adds, citing challenges related to transportation, security and insurance. of which a group of around 100 insurance companies from around the world had to be resolved. The red doors at the entrance of the museum. The building’s construction was funded by a HKD$3.5 billion ($450 million) donation from the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Credit: Hong Kong Palace Museum Curating exhibitions amid a pandemic also proved challenging — as did an accelerated schedule to ensure the museum opened in time for this week’s anniversary. “When I was a curator in the United States, I spent three years working on one exhibition. Now I have three years to work on nine exhibitions,” says deputy director Daisy Wang Yiyou, referring to the museum’s ambitious opening schedule. The stunning objects, 166 of which are considered “class one national treasures”, are presented in themed shows, including one exploring aspects of imperial life in the Forbidden City and another focusing on innovative design and production techniques. Elsewhere, an equine-inspired art exhibition juxtaposes works from the Forbidden City with pieces on loan from the Louvre in Paris. Some of the items have never been seen in public before, including two recently restored sketches of empresses. A glass vase, which looks surprisingly contemporary with its spiral pattern, showcases innovative techniques used during the Qing Dynasty. Source: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images Wang expects the “blockbuster” attraction to be the museum’s rotating exhibition of Chinese paintings and calligraphy from the Jin, Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties. “(These works) are extremely fragile and extremely rare, so after 30 days in Hong Kong, they are going to be taken back to the Forbidden City warehouse… (to) rest for a few years,” he explains. 166 artifacts on loan are considered national treasures, including this one, “Ten Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains,” a 12th-century ink-on-paper work by Zhao Fu. Credit: The Palace Museum

The city’s changing environment for art

With 84,000 square feet of gallery space and a modern design reminiscent of the famous Forbidden City architecture, the museum took just five years to complete. Neighboring institutions such as the M+ Museum of Contemporary Visual Culture, which also overlooks Victoria Harbor from the West Kowloon Cultural District, took almost twice as long. One of the museum’s nine galleries focuses on the history of Chinese ceramics, particularly imperial porcelain from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Credit: Hong Kong Palace Museum Hong Kong’s Palace Museum was not part of the original plans for the sprawling arts precinct, which sits on a piece of reclaimed land and has been under development since the early 2000s. The surprise unveiling of Lam’s plans in December 2016 it was seen by some critics as a means to gain political favor from China’s central government (he held the second highest position in Hong Kong at the time). Others claimed that Beijing had exerted pressure to approve the museum. Lam rejected claims that the project was proceeding for political reasons. “I know our society today is full of this kind of mistrust. But for this project, we are not really motivated by self-interest,” he said in 2017. “We really hope to build a Hong Kong palace museum, for Hong Kong Kong, which we can all be proud of.” The museum’s announcement, however, was “a surprise to everyone, including me,” Chan recalled. “Nobody knew,” he says. “But you can imagine why it was kept somewhat secret. This discussion is at a very high level.” A ceremonial robe from the Qianlong period (1736 to 1795) is displayed during a media preview of the Hong Kong Palace Museum in Hong Kong on June 22, 2022. Credit: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images Although the extent of Beijing’s role remains unknown, the $450 million museum is in line with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s vision of the “Chinese Dream,” or “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” which sees China’s economic future and the international influence interrelated. with the past glories of the nation. Xi has spoken on numerous occasions about the role of artists in promoting patriotism and spreading Chinese and “socialist core” values. Traditional Chinese culture, in his vision, should be seen as a source of inspiration for today’s literary and artistic innovation. During a three-day visit to Hong Kong to mark the 20th anniversary of the handover in 2017, Xi attended a signing ceremony at the museum, saying he hoped Hong Kong could promote traditional Chinese culture and exchanges between China and West.
The Hong Kong Palace Museum, designed by Rocco Design Architects Associates, is located in the cultural district of West Kowloon overlooking Victoria Harbour. Hong Kong is positioning itself as an East-meets-West cultural hub with the development of new art spaces in the region. Credit: ROCCO Design Associates Architects Limited But the museum today opens in a completely different Hong Kong. Beijing’s push for soft power comes at a time when freedom of expression is being curbed following mass pro-democracy protests and a sweeping national security law that effectively halted them in 2020. Art in the city is also under threat, with politically sensitive works apparently censored and artists going into self-imposed exile. Several high-profile works of art referring to the Tiananmen Square massacre, including the famous “Pillar of Shame”, have been demolished in Hong Kong, which was once the only place on Chinese soil where people could freely commemorate the victims of the bloodbath repression. Earlier this year, the “New Beijing” painting, a subtle allusion to the deaths of pro-democracy protesters in the 1989 massacre, was removed from the exhibition at M+, although the museum said it was part of routine rotation plans related to “the state of the work of art and conservation needs”.

Shared stories

Although the latest loan is first, in terms of size, the Hong Kong Palace Museum is not the only place where the treasures of the Forbidden City are on display. In Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province, many of the most valuable treasures of the imperial palace are currently housed in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. Over 600,000 artifacts from the Forbidden City were moved to the island by retreating Nationalist forces in the 1940s. With tensions between Beijing and Taipei at an all-time high, the museum is planning an exercise to evacuate the artifacts, should it flare up war. “I hope that one day there can be a real collaboration between the three museums, because we all highlight Chinese culture,” says Chan, expressing hope that the city’s new museum and its treasure can transcend politics. “Where does Chinese culture come from? And how does Chinese culture relate to other cultures? Because we’re not alone, right? I think that’s important, especially at a time when the world is so polarized and divided.” A portrait of the Yongzheng Emperor in court attire. Credit: The Palace Museum For Hong Kong residents, meanwhile, the museum is a hot summer destination, with 100,000 tickets already sold for July. Besides the chance to see the famous objects up close, the museum’s job is to make their stories relevant to local audiences, Wang says. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a historian or a driver,” he says. “You can relate to these fantastic treasures and the stories we tell. You can be emotionally moved by the objects.” Watch the video above for an inside look at Hong Kong’s Palace Museum. CNN’s Kevin Broad, Momo Moussa, Tom Booth, Dan Hodge and Ziyu Zhang contributed to this report.