The world-famous Mogao Caves in Western China are well over 1,000 years old, but the very latest digital technology is now giving them a remarkable new life – here in Hong Kong.  From tomorrow until 22 October at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Digital Dunhuang – Tales of Heaven and Earth, the latest top-class exhibition in The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series, will highlight the Dunhuang Academy's achievements in digitising the precious artefacts of the grottoes and their cultural relics, using cutting-edge multimedia technology to allow local residents and visitors to study the Dunhuang culture and art up close.

Today (10 July), Club Deputy Chairman Anthony W K Chow performed the Exhibition opening ceremony alongside Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR Carrie Lam; Vice-Governor of Gansu Province He Wei; Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the HKASR Yang Jian; Secretary for Home Affairs Lau Kong-wah; Director of the Cultural Relics Bureau of Gansu Province Ma Yuping; Deputy Director of the Dunhuang Academy Luo Huaqing, and other guests.

Mr Chow thanked the Dunhuang Academy for bringing these priceless treasures to Hong Kong again. "Arts, Culture & Heritage is one of the strategic focus areas of the Club's Charities Trust donations, aimed at building a culturally vibrant Hong Kong, enriching lives and promoting social inclusion," he said. "We will continue to bring world-class exhibits to the city through the Hong Kong Jockey Club Series to allow Hong Kong people to appreciate treasures from different places, times, centuries and cultures."

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Digital Dunhuang – Tales of Heaven and Earthexhibition is funded by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. It features 76 exhibits including a full scale replica of Cave 285, built during the Western Wei period and considered the most wonderful of the Mogao Caves. There are also virtual recreations of Caves 45 and 254, and a huge digitised mural depicting Wutai Mountain in Cave 61, together with precious artefacts and archives, to offer visitors an overview of the history and art of Dunhuang. Some of them are being presented in Hong Kong for the first time.

Adding further appeal to the three-month exhibition are various interactive multimedia and audio-video programmes, produced from high-fidelity cave scanning images provided by the Dunhuang Academy. These multimedia applications will give visitors an opportunity to view Dunhuang art in detail and gain a better understanding of life among ordinary people in the Buddhist world, as portrayed on the murals.

The Club's donation is also supporting a range of educational and public programmes to draw the attention of visitors from different age groups. For example, Hong Kong Heritage Museum and Hong Kong Repertory Theatre will jointly organise a first-ever outreach drama programme for students to learn about the artistic, historical and cultural aspects of the grottoes using an innovative approach. They will also be given an introduction to the Mogao Caves through a virtual reality programme developed by the Museum to arouse their interest invisiting the exhibition. For more exhibition details, please visit http://www.heritagemuseum.gov.hk/en_US/web/hm/exhibitions/data/exid252.html.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series is a partnership between the Club's Charities Trust and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. Launched in 2012, it supports two to three major exhibitions each year, all of which are complemented by educational programmes. Previous exhibitions including Eternal Life – Exploring Ancient Egypt, Hall of Mental Cultivation of The Palace Museum – Imperial Residence of Eight Emperors and Longevity and Virtues: Birthday Celebrations of the Qing Emperors and Empress Dowagers. The next is Treasures of Time, jointly organised by The Palace Museum and London Science Museum, to be held at the Hong Kong Science Museum at the end of 2018.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class racing club that acts continuously for the betterment of our society. The Club has a unique integrated business model, comprising racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charities and community contribution. Through this model, the Club generates economic and social value for the community and supports the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2016/17, the Club's total direct return to the community was HK$30.5 billion. It is Hong Kong's largest single taxpayer, one of the city's major employers and one of the world's top ten charity donors. The Club is always "riding high together for a better future" with the people of Hong Kong.