The new HK$3.5 billion ($450 million) Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) has opened to the public in the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD).
Covering an area of 13,000 square metres, the Hong Kong Palace Museum is a seven-storey building designed by Hong Kong-based Rocco Design Architects Associates.
Jointly curated by the Hong Kong Palace Museum and Beijing’s Palace Museum, the opening exhibitions showcase 914 treasures in rotation from the Forbidden City.
These are displayed alongside 100 artifacts on loan from local museums and cultural institutions, as well as 13 objects loaned from the Louvre in Paris.
“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,” said Bernard Charnwut Chan, chairman of the museum’s board.
914 treasures from Beijing’s Palace Museum
“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.”
Tickets for the Hong Kong Palace Museum can be purchased via the museum’s website, the West Kowloon Cultural District’s website and app, and through ticketing partners such as Klook and Fliggy.
Home to theatres, performance spaces and museums, the West Kowloon Cultural District is located alongside Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour. Hong Kong’s M+ museum opened in the district in November 2021.
“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,” said Betty Fung, CEO of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority.
Fung said the “wonderful new facility” will provide “multifaceted arts and cultural experiences to visitors from around the world”.
Images: Palace Museum
