Thousands pack Palace Museum after delayed debut

Thousands of people flocked to Hong Kong Palace Museum to see 900 Chinese relics, including imperial clothes, on its opening yesterday after it was delayed by Typhoon Chaba.

About 20 people, several in traditional Chinese costumes, queued at the new West Kowloon Cultural District museum from 6.30 am before it opened at 9 am. The museum's board chairman, Bernard Charnwut Chan, apologized to visitors affected by the typhoon. He said more than 110,000 of this month's tickets, have been sold. That's 85 percent.

Online sales of tickets for the first week of August will open on Wednesday next week.

Choi, the first visitor in line yesterday, said he was most excited to see pottery and paintings, adding he had brought his camera to capture all the exhibits.

Another visitor said she was most impressed by Emperor Qianlong's attire, but added the number of exhibits is less than that in Beijing's Palace Museum.

Citizen Siu thinks the palace museum in Hong Kong is more fashionable than the one in Beijing, which is an historical heritage center, adding that the museum could be a new photogenic spot in the city.

Visitor Chan went with her father. She hoped to let her father have a sneak peek of the museum upon its opening, but she could get only the standard tickets, which cost HK$50 and cover seven of the nine galleries, after trying for a few days. Among a group of "ancient" visitors who came to the museum in traditional Chinese costumes, Ngan was dressed as a Song Dynasty soldier.

She thinks that wearing the traditional costumes could add more to the atmosphere of the Palace Museum.

"I am wearing the clothes from the Song Dynasty. Of course, I will pay special attention to the Song Han artworks," she said - despite the museum in Beijing being built in the Ming Dynasty.

Visitor Lu, who dressed as a mid-Tang Dynasty lady, said the museum was more spacious and had blended both Chinese and western cultures.

She hoped to have in-depth tours with her friends in the future as she was the only one lucky enough to get a ticket.

About 1,000 non-fungible tokens will be drawn among visitors who bought tickets in the first 100 days of opening, Chan said, with more details to be announced. Chan also said a batch of new artworks will be coming in August, mainly paintings and calligraphy.

These artworks will go to Hall 8, which has 30 early treasures of Chinese painting and calligraphy from the Palace Museum collection in Beijing, which will be exhibited in three rotations, with 10 pieces on display each time for about one month.

By 5pm yesterday, more than 6,000 visitors had toured the museum in eight hours.

Paid tickets from Saturday will be valid for 180 days, and holders may use their original tickets to enter any day in the same time slot. No refunds will be given for admission on Wednesdays.

At the opening ceremony yesterday, the Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, hoped the museum could boost tourism.

"I hope the Palace Museum can display how Hong Kong makes use of its own cultural advantage under one country, two systems, in telling the Chinese stories well," Yeung said.