All Categories All Categories Arts, Culture and Heritage Education and Training Elderly Services Emergency and Poverty Relief Environmental Protection Family Services Medical and Health Rehabilitation Services Sports and Recreation Youth Development About the Trust

Tomorrow will see the opening of a major Club-supported exhibition at the Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM). The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: YUAN MING YUAN—Art and Culture of an Imperial Garden-Palace will provide an unparalleled insight into the Yuanming yuan, also known as the “Garden of All Gardens”, which was destroyed towards the end of the 19th century, with only ruins remaining today.

The exhibition is solely sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. It is being presented with the aid of a Club donation supporting the HKPM’s talent development initiatives, exhibitions and educational programmes in 2023–2031.

Today (19 March), Cheuk Wing-hing, Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration of the HKSAR Government; Du Haijiang, Deputy Director of The Palace Museum; Qiu Wenzhong, Director of the Yuanmingyuan Administration Office of Haidian District of Beijing; Winnie Yip, Head of Charities (Culture, Sports and Community Engagement) of The Hong Kong Jockey Club; Winnie Tam, Chairman of the Board of the Hong Kong Palace Museum; Betty Fung, Chief Executive Officer of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority; and Dr Louis Ng, Museum Director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum officiated at the exhibition’s opening ceremony.

The Club’s Head of Charities (Culture, Sports and Community Engagement) Winnie Yip said the Club was honoured to support this exhibition, which will help promote Chinese culture and cultural exchange between East and West. The exhibition-related documentaries and lectures can also deepen understanding of Chinese civilization. She highlighted that the Hong Kong Palace Museum was constructed with the support of a HK$3.5 billion donation from the Club’s Charities Trust. The donation is also supporting talent development initiatives, exhibitions and educational programmes at the museum.

In two rotations, the exhibition will present more than 190 exhibits closely associated with Yuanming yuan from the Palace Museum, the Yuanmingyuan Administration Office of Haidian District of Beijing, and other lenders. The exhibited objects include paintings, calligraphy, ceramics, architectural models, drawings, and prints. These precious treasures will highlight the life and aesthetic tastes of the emperors, festivals, and the relationship between members of the imperial family. They will also help us understand the Yuanming yuan after its destruction. Almost all of the exhibits are being displayed in Hong Kong for the first time.

Highlights include “The Yongzheng emperor enjoying flowers in the Peony Terrace”, “Spring Everlasting on the Abode of the Immortals”, “Yinzhen sitting in the Pavilion of Recitation in a Clear Voice”, “Consort of the Qianlong Emperor and Yongyan”, “Autumn Courtyard Overflown with Happiness”, “The Qianlong emperor at leisure”, and five valuable “Tangyang”  (architectural models made by royal Qing court architects) from the Palace Museum, which includes the Model of the Hall of Universal Peace in the Garden of Perfect Brightness, the Yongzheng Emperor’s favourite residence in Yuanming yuan in the form of a Buddhist swastika.

In addition, the exhibition will employ multimedia technology recreating the garden’s scenery and showcasing its construction process from more than 10 viewpoints. There will also be a series of learning and outreach programmes, including talks by curators and experts and a screening of the documentary The Lei Family, which features the architectural design and landscaping of the Yuanmingyuan. The exhibition opens tomorrow and runs until 12 August. For further details please visit: https://www.hkpm.org.hk/.

Sports and Culture is one of the priority areas of the Club’s Charities Trust. The Club will continue to support a wide range of arts and cultural initiatives citywide and support the Central Government’s vision of developing Hong Kong into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange, as outlined in the National 14th Five-Year Plan.

The Club’s support for the Hong Kong Palace Museum, like all of its charity donations, is made possible by its unique integrated business model through which racing and wagering generate employment, tax and charity support for the community.