Lingnan artefacts, architecture go on display in Hong Kong, with centuries-old pieces to inspire modern-day Greater Bay Area integration
- Exhibition at Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre in Kowloon Park brings together 170 exhibits dating from Western Han dynasty to present day
- Show co-organised by Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong province as part of efforts to boost integration within Greater Bay Area
Nestled in Hong Kong’s verdant Kowloon Park is an imposing five-metre-tall, intricately carved wooden shrine on display in the city for the first time as part of an exhibition targeting improved integration within the Greater Bay Area.
The century-old structure, a top-grade national treasure from Guangdong province known as the Panyu shrine, is part of the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre’s show which the museum said features 170 exhibits dating from the Western Han dynasty (202 BC to 8 AD) to the present day.
The pieces showcase “the culture and traditions of the Lingnan region and the Central Plains, which share the same origin”, according to the Hong Kong government.
Susanna Siu Lai-kuen, one of the curators of the exhibition, which is titled “Under the Same Roof: Origin and Art of Lingnan Traditional Architecture”, said the show highlighted the shared properties of artefacts in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.
“Every exhibition cabinet features artefacts from all three places … but they do not feel out of place with one other because they share a lot of similarities,” she said.
Siu added she wanted her curation to bring out “the feeling of a family” to echo the title of the show, which evoked the idea of relatives living together “under one roof”, an important part of Chinese culture.
The exhibition is the first to be co-organised by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau since the trio signed a memorandum of understanding in November 2022 on exchange and collaboration over archaeological and cultural heritage in the bay area.