East meets West in China-France exhibition

Ayra Wang

Some 150 artifacts from the Palace Museum in Beijing and the Palace of Versailles in France, including eight first-grade national treasures from the mainland, will be showcased at the Hong Kong Palace Museum starting tomorrow.

The special exhibition "The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles: China-France Cultural Encounters in the 17th and 18th Centuries" runs until May 4.

Hong Kong Palace Museum director Louis Ng Chi-wa said the exhibition underscores cultural exchanges between China and France as part of the celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the China-France Year of Cultural Tourism.

"Beginning with King of France Louis XIV and Chinese emperor Kangxi, this exhibition allows the public to explore the exchanges and innovations between the two countries," Ng said.

This is the first time that treasures from both the Palace Museum and the Palace of Versailles will be displayed in the same exhibition in Hong Kong, he said.

An estimated 200,000 visitors are expected, Ng said, with a strong likelihood for even more due to an influx of tourists during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The museum will organize more exhibitions and programs next year to promote Chinese culture to a global audience and collaborate with international partners.

The Paris-Beijing exhibition is divided into four sections, covering Sino-French exchanges in science, artisanship, arts, culture and philosophy during the 17th and 18th centuries.

The eight national first-grade treasures from China include a Kangxi-marked bowl in porcelain with overglaze enamels decorated with flower patterns and a porcelain bowl with rouge-red glaze and powdered colors made in the Qing dynasty.

The two bowls showcase the process of how enameling techniques were brought to China by works gifted by Louis XIV to Kangxi and further innovations by Chinese artisans.

A porcelain perfume fountain from the Palace of Versailles owned by Louis XV will also feature, showing how artifacts created in China were transported to France and decorated by local artisans.

Scientific instruments made in China with the assistance of French experts and French paintings of Chinese people and culture also feature in the exhibition.

Multimedia installations with panoramic video and music are also featured and a series of educational activities including public talks and family workshops will be held during the exhibition period.