Hong Kong Palace Museum Officially Opens Doors to Public

Hong Kong’s newest arts and cultural landmark, the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) located at the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD), officially opened its doors to the public today. A lion dance was staged at Museum Plaza shortly before the museum opened to celebrate this important milestone. The opening event was officiated by Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism; Bernard Charnwut Chan, Chairman of the HKPM Board; Professor Lee Chack-fan, Vice-chairman of the HKPM Board; Mrs Betty Fung, Chief Executive Officer of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority; and Dr Louis Ng, Museum Director, HKPM. The officiating guests joined with other HKPM Board Members and staff to welcome the museum’s first visitors. 

Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism of the HKSAR, said: “The HKPM will become a must-visit tourism hotspot for visitors from Hong Kong, Mainland China and beyond, helping to boost the city’s tourism development. As a key venue in the WKCD, I believe the opening of the HKPM will play an important role in taking the development of the district to new heights. The new museum also showcases the unique advantages of Hong Kong under ‘One Country, Two Systems’, leveraging the city's own cultural edge to tell a good China story.”

Bernard Charnwut Chan, Chairman of the HKPM Board, expressed his delight at the museum’s opening: “From project initiation, design and construction to completion, the HKPM has opened its doors to the public on schedule, within budget and within five years – just in time to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, which our teams are very excited about. We look forward to welcoming visitors from Hong Kong, Mainland China and the rest of the world to appreciate these amazing art treasures from the Palace Museum and experience the richness of 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation in this magnificent new facility.” 

Betty Fung, Chief Executive Officer of West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, said: “As the second world-class museum to open in WKCD within just eight months, the opening of the HKPM marks another important milestone in the development of the District. This wonderful new facility will offer multifaceted arts and cultural experiences to visitors from around the world, serving as a significant catalyst to Hong Kong’s development into an East-meets-West Centre for international cultural exchange, as outlined in the National 14th Five-Year Plan.”

The HKPM announced today that it has received confirmation from various corporates and organisations to sponsor 150,000 general admission tickets reserved for underprivileged groups in Hong Kong and another 64,000 tickets for student visits. These tickets will be distributed through local charitable organisations and schools respectively, with details to be announced in due course. 

Approximately 140,000 admission tickets for the first four weeks of the museum’s opening had been made available for purchase starting from 14 June (Tuesday). With an overwhelming response from the public, about 85% (close to 115,000) of these available tickets have been sold as at 2 July 2022, including over 37,000 Special Exhibition (SE) tickets (95% of all SE tickets available) have been sold and all of the over 11,500 free general admission tickets for Wednesdays in July have been fully booked. 

Tickets beyond the first four weeks will be made available for purchase/registration on a weekly basis from 12 July (Tuesday) onwards. Visitors will be able to purchase the newly available tickets or register for free entry every Tuesday morning. For example, from 12 July onwards, visitors can purchase or register tickets between 1 August and 8 August (except for 2 August (Tuesday)) and from 19 July onwards, tickets between 9 August and 15 August (except for 9 August (Tuesday)) will be available for purchase/registration. 

Members of the public can purchase or register for tickets through the HKPM website, the WKCD website, the WKCD app, or purchase tickets via the online platforms of the museum’s ticketing partners including Klook, China Travel Service (Hong Kong) Limited and Fliggy.

In line with HKPM’s vision to promote Chinese culture to future generations through innovative technologies, HKPM announces today that it will give away 1,000 units of Commemorative NFT (Non-Fungible Token) with a specially designed ticket image to visitors who purchase tickets via WKCD’s centralised ticketing platform for admission during the first 100 days of the museum’s opening (i.e., from 2 July to 25 October 2022). More details about the campaign and the terms and conditions will be made available soon.

Located at the western tip of WKCD along the Victoria Harbour waterfront, the HKPM is a seven-storey building that covers a site area of 13,000 sqm with a total floor area of approximately 30,000 sqm. Designed by Hong Kong-based Rocco Design Architects Associates, the HKPM comprises nine galleries specifically designed for thematic and special exhibitions. The opening exhibitions, jointly curated by the HKPM and the Palace Museum, feature 914 carefully selected treasures – among the largest and finest selection of exhibits the Palace Museum has ever lent to another cultural institution outside the Mainland since its establishment in 1925. These treasures will go on display in rotation at the HKPM’s opening exhibitions, displayed alongside more than 100 exhibits on loan from local museums and cultural institutions. The museum will also display 13 precious art objects loaned from Musée du Louvre in Paris, recognising the depth of cultural and knowledge exchanges between China and other countries.

Remarks

About the Hong Kong Palace Museum
The Hong Kong Palace Museum aspires to become a leading institution on the study and appreciation of Chinese art and culture while advancing dialogue between world civilisations. The Hong Kong Palace Museum is a collaborative project between the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and the Palace Museum, which is funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust with a donation of HK$3.5 billion for its establishment, as well as some of the annual exhibitions and education programmes in 2023-2031.

Embracing new curatorial approaches, the museum combines a Hong Kong perspective with a global vision to present precious artefacts from the Palace Museum and other important cultural institutions around the world. Through research, exhibitions, and educational and professional exchange programmes, the museum aims to build international partnerships and position Hong Kong as a global hub for art and culture. At heart a resource that belongs to the local community, the museum strives to inspire community engagement, foster dialogue, and promote creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration.
https://www.hkpm.org.hk/

About the West Kowloon Cultural District
The West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest and most ambitious cultural projects in the world. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong on 40 hectares of reclaimed land located alongside Victoria Harbour. With a varied mix of theatres, performance spaces, and museums, the West Kowloon Cultural District will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances and cultural events, providing 23 hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.
https://www.westkowloon.hk/