"The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: The Ancient Civilisation of the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties in Henan Province", the first large-scale exhibition in the General History of China Series, launched by the Hong Kong Museum of History (HKMH) in collaboration with the Chinese Culture Promotion Office, has been widely welcomed by the local public and visitors since its opening on April 3 and received its 150 000th visitor today (June 27). The Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Kevin Yeung, and the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mr Vincent Liu, visited the HKMH to present a souvenir pack to the 150 000th visitor of the exhibition. The exhibition period will end in 10 days on July 8. Members of the public are welcome to grasp the final opportunity to visit this exhibition with free admission.
This exhibition showcases over 150 sets/items of precious cultural relics from the Henan Museum as well as a dozen other museums and cultural institutions in the province. They include large and complete sets of bronze ware, jade ware, potteries, bone ware and oracle bones, of which 33 sets/items are grade one national treasures and about 40 sets/items are on display outside Henan Province for the first time. The HKMH has prepared souvenirs for the 150 000th visitor, including an exhibition booklet, a bronze square zun 3D paper model and tickets of Chinese Opera programme of the Chinese Culture Festival 2024. The 150 000th visitor is university student Ms Chang. She is passionate about Chinese history and culture, and has invited her friends to visit the exhibition together today. The most remarkable exhibit for her is the grade-one national treasure "Wang Zi Wu" ding, through which she could appreciate the exquisite craftsmanship in the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties and enhance understanding of the Chinese culture. She also greatly enjoyed stamping the forms and patterns of bronze vessels on postcards at the interactive zone.
The exhibition has been well received by schools, with more than 4 000 students from over 100 schools learning more about the history and the exhibits through guided tours. Teaching kits have been specially produced for primary and secondary schools. Schools with notification letters from the museum are advised to collect the kits as soon as possible. To allow more residents and tourists to visit, the interactive zone and reading zone of the exhibition located at the lobby of the museum will remain open until August 19. The interactive zone enables visitors to learn and understand the dazzling ancient civilisation of the three dynasties, as well as their connection with modern daily lives through fascinating displays, interactive games and animation. The "Joyful Reading of the Ancient Chinese Civilisation – the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties" reading zone set up by the Hong Kong Public Libraries outside the exhibition gallery showcases specially selected collections and e-books covering the theme of cultural relics of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, archaeological discoveries, historical stories, myths and biographies, enabling members of the public to learn about China's longstanding history, origins and development, and make use of online resources for extended reading.
Members of public can also join a series of free workshops at the HKMH to make 3D paper models of bronze square zun, and learn idioms from Xia, Shang and Zhou artefacts from badge making or imprinting blessings and auspicious words in oracle bone script onto cloth bags. For more details on the exhibition and workshops, please visit hk.history.museum/en/web/mh/exhibition/The-Ancient-Civilisation-of-the-Xia-Shang-and-Zhou-Dynasties-in-Henan-Province-Exhibition.html. Public members should not miss the opportunity to download the exhibition pamphlet and booklet from the museum website to learn more about the history of the exhibits. Specially produced video clips on selected exhibits and related interesting history stories can also be found on the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) Edutainment Channel www.lcsd.gov.hk/edutainment/en/museums/page_512.html.
The exhibition is jointly presented by the LCSD and the Henan Provincial Administration of Cultural Heritage, jointly organised by the HKMH and the Henan Museum, solely sponsored by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, and in collaboration with the Chinese Culture Promotion Office (CCPO). This is the first exhibition in the General History of China Series, launched by the CCPO in collaboration with the HKMH. Subsequently, the HKMH will stage exhibitions every year on historical relics of significant periods in chronological order. The series will conclude in 2029 with an exhibition celebrating the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the People's Republic of China. An exhibition on the cultural relics of the Qin and Han dynasties will be launched next year. The LCSD has long been promoting Chinese history and culture through organising an array of programmes and activities to enable the public to learn more about the broad and profound culture of China. For more information, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/en/ccpo/index.html.
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