Palace Museum center in the SAR underway

Palace Museum, Beijing

A new center for the protection of Palace Museum heritage is being built in the SAR and will be completed in two to three years, said an official from the Palace Museum in Beijing, as cited in a report issued by China Daily.

The Macau center will have two major functions — protecting the cultural heritage of Macau, and designing cultural offerings related to the Palace Museum, which is also known as the Forbidden City, according to Dong Dan, deputy director of the International Exchange Department of the Palace Museum.

“We want our Macau center to be different from its counterpart in Hong Kong, which displays exhibits mainly on loan from Beijing,” said Dong in a press conference, according to the report.

Data from the museum shows that the Hong Kong Palace Museum has welcomed more than 900,000 visitors since its opening last July. It has a collection of 900 treasures borrowed from the Palace Museum in Beijing, covering ink paintings, calligraphy, ceramic and cultural artifacts related to the imperial families that previously inhabited the Forbidden City.

Dong also added that the Palace Museum aims to spread Chinese culture through products to be exhibited and sold at the Macau center.

“Macau is a popular tourist destination and we hope tourists visiting from across the world will take home our products and learn about Chinese culture,” added Dong.

Since Macau’s return to China in 1999, the Palace Museum has held 31 shows in the SAR.

The latest was Auspicious Beginning: Spring Festival Traditions in the Forbidden City, an exhibition showcasing the imperial traditions of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

In addition to cultural exchanges with Macau and Hong Kong, the Palace Museum has expanded cooperation with counterparts overseas, demonstrating the philosophy, methods and techniques of Chinese archaeology.

Staff Reporter