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The Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Mrs Betty Fung, in Beijing today (June 25) signed a Letter of Intent on Co-operation with the National Museum of China (NMC) to further strengthen cultural exchange and collaboration between Hong Kong and the Mainland.
This follows the Letter of Intent that the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) signed with another major cultural office, Beijing's Palace Museum, last Thursday (June 21).
Mrs Fung said the LCSD had maintained a close relationship with the NMC in the development of art and culture over the years. With the signing of the Letter of Intent, she hoped both sides would step up the exchange of exhibitions.
Under the framework for collaboration, a five-year plan will be implemented so that rare collections from the NMC will be brought to Hong Kong, thus providing more opportunities for local people to appreciate national art treasures and better understand China's rich cultural heritage. At the same time, exhibitions curated by LCSD museums will be staged on the Mainland for people to gain a better understanding of Hong Kong's history, art and culture.
In addition to joint exhibitions, the Letter of Intent also covers exchange and arrangements in such areas as conservation of collections, display of exhibits, academic research, sharing of information, community education, publicity and promotion.
The LCSD and NMC have previously worked closely on a number of exhibitions, including "A Century of China" in 2009.
Mrs Fung then visited the National Library of China (NLC) to see the "Wenjinge Siku Quanshu" (the Complete Library of Four Treasures of Wenjin Pavilion), and discussed future collaboration on digital library materials with NLC officials.
Mrs Fung said the "Exhibition of Rare Books and Special Collections from the National Library of China", co-organised by the Hong Kong Public Libraries (HKPL) and NLC last year, had successfully showcased the NLC's invaluable artifacts and its achievements in the conservation and restoration of cultural relics. She hoped the NLC could share its digitised version of rare and ancient books with the HKPL in future.
Mrs Fung added that the HKPL are in the process of upgrading the Multimedia Information System (MMIS). Once co-operation between the HKPL and the NLC is in smooth operation, digitised ancient rare books could be incorporated into the MMIS, allowing local readers to enjoy the ancient collections on the dedicated webpage.
Ends/Monday, June 25, 2012
Issued at HKT 19:46
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