WKCDA Announces Signing of Collaborative Agreement to Establish the Hong Kong Palace Museum

The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) is delighted to announce today the signing of a Collaborative Agreement with the Palace Museum on the development of the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM).  The HKPM, displaying the exquisite artefacts of Chinese art and culture from the imperial collection of the Palace Museum, will enhance the cultural offering of the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) and increase its attractiveness as a cultural destination.  In addition, it will provide a valuable opportunity for collaboration with other museums in research and education, thereby strengthening Hong Kong’s position as a leading cultural metropolis.


At the signing ceremony held today at the temporary Nursery Park of the WKCD, where HKPM will stand in future, the Collaborative Agreement for the HKPM project was signed by the Board Chairman of the WKCDA, who is also the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, and the Director of the Palace Museum, Dr Shan Jixiang. Witnessing the signing of the Collaborative Agreement were President Xi Jinping, the Chief Executive, Mr C Y Leung, and the Chief Executive-Elect, Mrs Carrie Lam.


The HKPM project, to be funded by a generous donation of HK$3.5 billion from the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, will occupy a site of around 10,000 square metres at the western harbourfront, adjacent to the Art Park.  It will be a purpose-built museum managed and operated by the WKCDA, staging exhibitions of artefacts on loan from the Palace Museum collections with its own unique curatorial approach.  Facilities in this new museum will include exhibition galleries, activity rooms, a lecture theatre, souvenir shop and restaurant.


With the signing of the Collaborative Agreement today, WKCDA will move on to finalise the design for the HKPM and commence construction in 2018, with a view to achieving completion in 2022.


The Collaborative Agreement signed today sets out the major principles of collaboration, including the overall roles and responsibilities of the WKCDA and the Palace Museum in the HKPM project, the governance structure of HKPM, funding arrangement as well as the general framework for loans of collections and other operational matters.


Under the Collaborative Agreement, the WKCDA will be responsible for the day-to-day operation, curatorial matters and maintenance of HKPM.  It will set up a wholly-owned subsidiary company with a museum board comprising members of the WKCDA Board and personalities with relevant expertise and experience in museum collection, management and curatorial matters in relation to Chinese art, history and cultural heritage.  The Palace Museum will nominate a representative to sit on the HKPM Board to serve as a link between HKPM and the Palace Museum and to facilitate communication and collaboration. 


The Palace Museum is responsible for, among other things, providing loan of its valuable collection to the HKPM for display and seeking necessary approvals from the relevant Mainland authorities.   The Collaborative Agreement provides that the loan duration of artefacts to the HKPM for long-term exhibitions may be extended up to two years.  A minimum number of 600 pieces/sets of artefacts will be on loan to HKPM for display at long-term exhibitions. Together with the artefacts to be displayed at temporary exhibitions, the total number of Palace Museum collections to be exhibited in HKPM at any time will be around 900 pieces/sets. The Palace Museum will also seek special approval from the relevant authorities such that the number and percentage of Grade One relics on loan to HKPM can go beyond the current restrictions applicable to Hong Kong.


To view the Collaborative Agreement, please click this link to access www.westkowloon.hk/hkpmcollaborativeagreement


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About West Kowloon Cultural District

Located on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, the West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest cultural projects in the world. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong. With a complex of theatres, performance spaces, and M+, the West Kowloon Cultural District will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances, and cultural events, as well as provide 23 hectares of public open space, including a two kilometre waterfront promenade.