Palace Museum shows artifacts in Hong Kong

Two major exhibitions of cultural relics reflecting former imperial families' lives will be displayed in Hong Kong as highlights among a series of events to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China.

According to Shan Jixiang, director of Beijing's Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City, one exhibition, titled Hall of Mental Cultivation of The Palace Museum: Imperial Residence of Eight Emperors, will open on Wednesday in the Hong Kong Heritage Museum and close Oct 15.

Shan said in Hong Kong on Monday, where he was attending a meeting of leaders from top-tier museums, that the exhibition will display about 230 sets of artifacts with a wide range of varieties, including daily-use articles, personal seals and vases, which panoramically show interiors of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Built in 1537 within the Forbidden City during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), it was the residence of the last eight Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) emperors.

In 2016, it was displayed in the Capital Museum in Beijing.

"We had some adjustments on the repertoire of exhibits this time," Shan said. "It's to adapt to the structure of exhibition halls. Nevertheless, the choice of exhibits is largely dependent on the Hong Kong exhibition curators' ideas."

The exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum marks the first time these national treasures will be displayed outside Beijing.

The other exhibition, Longevity and Virtues: Birthday Celebrations of the Qing Emperors and Empress Dowagers, will kick off on July 1 in the Hong Kong Museum of History and run through Oct 9.

Once displayed in the Palace Museum in 2015, about 210 sets of relics are gathered again to reflect grand celebrations and the rituals from the Qing Dynasty.