Hong Kong Palace Museum | Hong Kong Palace Museum Announces Exciting Line-up of Exhibitions in 2025

Seven new exhibitions will encompass themes celebrating the treasures from The Palace Museum, ancient civilisations such as Ancient Egyptian, the Islamic world, and the Mughal empire, as well as highlights from the HKPM Collection. This new exhibition line-up aims to showcase the finest aspects of Chinese art and culture while fostering dialogue among world civilisations.

The Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM or the Museum) has presented more than 20 thematic and special exhibitions since its opening in July 2022 to showcase treasures from The Palace Museum, the HKPM, and other important cultural institutions from around the world, with a total attendance of approximately 3 million. The Museum is pleased to unveil its ambitious line-up of four new special exhibitions and three new thematic exhibitions in 2025 under three key themes, including The Palace Museum’s treasures, ancient world civilisations and the HKPM’s latest collection, along with the first travelling exhibition of its own collection to be presented in Beijing. The Museum will continue to promote Chinese arts and culture through a unique curatorial approach, innovative digital technology, and a diverse range of activities, while fostering dialogue among civilisations.

Three new special and thematic exhibitions to showcase The Palace Museum’s treasures

In 2025, the HKPM and The Palace Museum will jointly present three new thematic and special exhibitions, showcasing the cultural charm of The Palace Museum, which embodies 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation.

As a highlight of “Art March 2025”, the HKPM will present the special exhibition “A Movable Feast: The Culture of Food and Drink in China” from 19 March to 18 June 2025 in Gallery 8. Food culture is a vital component of traditional Chinese heritage, boasting a rich and diverse history. This exhibition will take the audience through a feast that traverses spiritual, cultural, and physical spaces. It explores the culinary culture and lifestyle of ancient Chinese people through the evolution of food vessels, eating practices, and traditions, presenting approximately 110 exquisite works. These objects, primarily on loan from The Palace Museum, span from the Neolithic period (c. 10000 BCE–c. 2000BCE) to the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Additional works on display will come from the British Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, as well as museums in Hong Kong.

Thematic exhibitions include “The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: The Art of Armaments – Qing Dynasty Military Collection from The Palace Museum”, which will open on 22 January 2025 in Gallery 4. This will be the first large-scale exhibition in Hong Kong of recent years to highlight the martial culture of the Qing court. The exhibition is solely sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. The Forbidden City in Beijing, which served as the nexus of political and military power during the Qing dynasty, is also a rich repository of traditional military culture. Featuring nearly 190 military artefacts from The Palace Museum’s collection, the exhibition aims to deepen the audience's understanding of Qing dynasty military culture. It vividly illustrates the Manchu emphasis on ancestral martial traditions, the advancement of weapon-making techniques for bows, swords, and firearms, and their dedication to hunting and drills. The result of these activities was the creation of numerous court military art works, the establishment of military rituals, and the development of fleets and coastal defence.

Furthermore, the HKPM will collaborate with The Palace Museum to stage “The Ways in Patterns – An Immersive Digital Exhibition from The Palace Museum” (working title) in Gallery 7. Opening on 14 May 2025, this is the first in-gallery multimedia exhibition featuring treasures from The Palace Museum. The exhibition harnesses the power of “art + technology” to illuminate the rich tapestry of Chinese culture. Employing cutting-edge technologies and digital techniques, it presents the diverse and meaningful artistic patterns inherent in The Palace Museum's ancient architecture, ceramics, furniture, and textiles. This exhibition reveals the timeless allure of China's exceptional traditional culture in a contemporary format, fostering the integration of heritage with innovative technology while emphasising the inheritance and evolution of Chinese civilisation.

In addition to the new exhibitions, the two highly popular thematic exhibitions, “Entering the Forbidden City: Architecture, Collection, and Heritage” (Gallery 1) and “From Dawn to Dusk: Life and Art in the Forbidden City” (Gallery 2), which introduce the Forbidden City of the Ming and Qing dynasties as well as life at the Qing court, will feature a new batch of precious artefacts on loan from The Palace Museum to the HKPM this year, with details to be announced later.

Collaboration with world’s leading cultural institutions to feature Ancient Egyptian, Islamic, and Mughal arts, showcasing ancient civilisations

The HKPM is committed to promoting exchanges between world civilisations and will open three special exhibitions to showcase ancient civilisations in 2025. A major highlight exhibition in 2025 will be the groundbreaking “Tutankhamun and the Secrets of Saqqara” (workingtitle) special exhibition, which will open in November 2025. This will be the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of ancient Egyptian treasures in Hong Kong in recent decades, featuring nearly 250 exquisite objects from seven important institutions in Egypt, including the Egyptian Museum and Luxor Museum. It will also highlight significant new archaeological discoveries from the large tombs at Saqqara near Cairo. The exhibition illustrates the legendary life of the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun (r. ca.1332 BCE–1323 BCE) while exploring statues, coffins, and animal mummies found in Saqqara since 2018. The exhibition will run for nine months, from late-November 2025 through late-August 2026 in Gallery 9 of the HKPM. To complement the exhibition, the Museum will utilise digital technology to create an immersive experience, inviting visitors to delve into the enigmas of ancient Egyptian civilisation.

The HKPM will stage the first major Islamic art exhibition in Hong Kong – “Imperial Carpets: Masterpieces from the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha” (working title), which will run from 18 June 2025 to 6 October 2025 in Gallery 9. This special exhibition showcases around 100 masterpieces, including the finest carpets from Iran, Turkey, and India, along with ceramics, metalwork, manuscripts, and jades. The exhibits are primarily from the Museum of Islamic Art,complemented by precious objects from the General Collections of Qatar Museums and from the collection of the HKPM. As early as the Tang (618–907) and Song (960–1279) dynasties, the Islamic world had been in contact with China by land and sea routes. Chinese motifs often appear in Islamic art of the period as seen in the carpets and objects of diverse materials on display in the exhibition.

“Treasures of the Mughal Court” (working title), which will run from 6 August 2025 to 23 February 2026 in Gallery 8, celebrates the extraordinary artistic achievements of the Golden Age of the Mughal Empire (about 1560 – 1660) on the Indian subcontinent during the reigns of its most famous emperors: Akbar (r.1556 – 1605), Jahangir (r.1605 – 1627), and Shah Jahan (r.1628 – 1658). This will be the first comprehensive exhibition in Hong Kong dedicated to the pinnacle of Mughal art, featuring approximately 110 iconic artworks from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in the U.K., most of which have never been exhibited in Hong Kong.

Showcasing HKPM’s latest collection – the promised gifts from the esteemed art collector Mr Chris Hall

“A History of China in Silk: The Chris Hall Collection at the Hong Kong Palace Museum”(working title), opening on 26 September 2025 in Gallery 6, will be the first major exhibition in Hong Kong in recent years to provide a survey of the history of Chinese silk culture and the cross-cultural exchanges exemplified through textiles. With nearly 3,000 pieces, the Chris Hall Collection at the HKPM (the Collection) is one of the world’s most comprehensive and important collections of historical Chinese textiles. This exhibition features approximately 250 representative works from the Collection, spanning from the Warring States period (5th – 3rd century BCE) to the 20th century. Focusing on the development of dyeing and weaving techniques as well as design, the exhibition explores how the evolution of textiles and clothing reflects the social, cultural, and technological advancements of the time. It also highlights the cultural exchanges between China and other parts of the world through silk and fashion.

HKPM’s first travelling exhibition showcasing its collection of Chinese ancient gold

The HKPM will present its first travelling exhibition at the Capital Museum in Beijing in November 2025, showcasing the renowned Mengdiexuan Collection of ancient gold, generously donated by Hong Kong collectors Ms Betty Lo and Mr Kenneth Chu. This collection comprises nearly 1,400 ancient Chinese gold and silver objects, making it one of the world's most comprehensive and important museum collections, as well as the largest group of donations received by the Museum since its establishment. The Museum has curated several exhibitions to feature items from this prestigious collection. Among them, “Radiance: Ancient Gold from the Hong Kong Palace Museum Collection and the Mengdiexuan Collection” in 2023, stands out as the largest exhibition of Chinese ancient gold ornaments in Hong Kong in recent years, spotlighting the 3,000-year illustrious history of Chinese gold artefacts and the remarkable artistic and technical achievements of ancient Chinese gold craftsmanship. Well received by both experts and the public, the exhibition was named one of the “Top 100 Museum Exhibitions” in China.

Dr Louis Ng, Museum Director of the HKPM, said, “We are thrilled to unveil our 2025 exhibition line-up, which underscores our commitment to showcasing the richness of Chinese arts and culture while fostering dialogue with global civilisations. We will continue to collaboratewith renowned institutions worldwide to curate world-class exhibitions. Leveraging Hong Kong’s unique position as a hub for international cultural exchange, we aim to deepen our connections with the global community and facilitate vibrant East-meets-West conversations.”

HKPM line-up of new exhibitions in 2025*

*Note: the exhibition name, content, and duration are subject to change.

Remarks

About the Hong Kong Palace Museum
Through innovative curatorial approaches, the Hong Kong Palace Museum presents priceless treasures from the Palace Museum along with the finest collections from other world-renowned institutions. The Museum is also in the process of building its own world-class collection. Opening in 2022, the Museum is a leading institution for the study and appreciation of Chinese art and culture and the promotion of dialogue among world civilisations. The Museum is a collaborative project between the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and the Palace Museum. The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust donated HK$3.5 billion to fund the construction of the museum and part of its annual exhibitions and educational programmes from 2023 to 2031.

Through research, exhibitions, publications, and educational and professional exchange programmes, the Museum builds international partnerships and positions Hong Kong as a global hub for art and culture. A resource that belongs to the local community, the Museum inspires community engagement, fosters dialogue, and promotes creativity and interdisciplinary collaboration.

About the West Kowloon Cultural District (WestK)
WestK is one of the largest and most ambitious cultural hubs in the world and Hong Kong’s new cultural tourism landmark, spanning 40 hectares alongside Victoria Harbour. WestK comprises a mix of landmark arts and cultural facilities, including world-class museums M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum, intricately designed performing arts venues the Xiqu Centre and Freespace, the 11-hectare Art Park with a waterfront promenade, and the forthcoming WestK Performing Arts Centre.

Hosting approximately 1,000 exhibitions, performances, programmes, and events each year, WestK provides a vital platform for both emerging and established artists. WestK welcomes more than 10 million visitors each year, enriching the cultural influence of Hong Kong and strengthening the city’s strategic role as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange
https://www.westk.hk/