Hong Kong’s role in promoting Chinese culture on the global stage was highlighted on Friday at an academic exchange event involving the special administrative region and Zhejiang province.
The event was a highlight of an ongoing exhibition at the Run Run Shaw Creative Media Centre of the City University of Hong Kong (CityU). The exhibition, which opened on Jan 15 and runs through Friday, features A Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings, open to the public free of charge.
The exhibition was launched in 2005 by Zhejiang University and the Zhejiang Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage and completed in 2024. It is one of the world’s most extensive compilations of ancient Chinese painting images. The 232 books across 62 volumes feature 12,405 works on paper, silk, linen, and other materials from 263 museums and cultural institutions from around the world.
The CityU exhibition is divided into three thematic sections, each complemented by immersive zones that highlight Zhejiang-Hong Kong connections through landscape, nature, and daily life. An interactive installation titled Song Dynasty Painting Multimedia Interactive offers visitors a multisensory engagement with the living cultural heritage of Zhejiang.
Li Wen-jung, CityU’s vice-president (talent and international strategy), said the exchange event could deepen academic collaboration between Zhejiang and Hong Kong, as well as strengthening the SAR’s role as an international academic hub. CityU will advance research and dissemination of cultural heritage, and fulfill the university's role as an academic hub, he added.
Zhang Guangzhou, deputy director-general of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism, noted the enduring and profound cultural bond between Zhejiang and Hong Kong, and said he hopes that Hong Kong residents can feel the cultural connection through the paintings, which showcase Song Dynasty (960-1279) art and Chinese culture.
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Raistlin Lau Chun, undersecretary for culture, sports and tourism, thanked the organizer for providing Hong Kong residents a chance to see these cultural treasures.
Lau said that the special exhibition innovatively transforms traditional arts through technology, which is aligned with the HKSAR government’s direction of promoting Chinese culture. The SAR has always been committed to cultural compilation work, and hopes to join with Zhejiang to further promote the development of traditional Chinese culture, he added.
Chen Ye, chief expert and director of the Zhejiang University research center overseeing the collection, said that the influence of the compilation has expanded from the mainland to Hong Kong and Macao. She said that major museums in Hong Kong already house significant Chinese painting collections, reflecting the city’s role in preserving cultural heritage.
Chen said she hopes the event will help introduce traditional Chinese culture to a global audience and foster closer academic networks.
The exchange has brought together scholars and experts from across the region to explore the project’s achievements through keynote speeches and seminars, including discussions on ancient Chinese paintings held in HKSAR collections.
During the opening ceremony of the exchange event, a representative of Zhejiang University donated the book A Comprehensive Collection of Ancient Chinese Paintings to CityU.
Contact the writer at atlasshao@chinadailyhk.com
