The following is issued on behalf of the Institute of Philanthropy

The opening ceremony of the “Galloping Through Time: Digital Reimagination of Horse Art and Culture” exhibition was held on 3 June in The Great Hall of Exalted Mystery (Dagaoxuan dian) at the Palace Museum in Beijing. Exclusively sponsored by the Institute of Philanthropy (IoP) and organised by the Palace Museum, the exhibition enables visitors to journey from ancient to modern times through an interactive 3D digital display and discover the links between Chinese culture and horses, including the spiritual symbolism surrounding horses and their close relationship with humans.

Established as an independent “think-fund-do” tank for China and Asia and beyond through a strategic seed grant from The Hong Kong Jockey Club and its Charities Trust, IoP is collaborating with the Palace Museum on a five-year initiative to foster cultural exchange and develop arts tech talent. As part of this collaboration, the exhibition also coincides with the museum’s centennial celebration and is among events being staged in celebration of the Club’s 140th anniversary.

Officiating guests at the opening ceremony included Dr Wang Xudong, Member, Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Director of the Palace Museum; Lester Huang, IoP Chairman and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust; Amy Yuen, Acting Director, Beijing Office of HKSAR Government; Du Haijiang, Secretary of the CPC Palace Museum Committee and Deputy Director of The Palace Museum; Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, IoP Director and CEO of The Hong Kong Jockey Club; and Li Xiaocheng, Chairman of The Forbidden City Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation.

Attendees included Wang Liming, Inspector Level I, Department of Technology and Education, Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Zhi Haijie, Deputy Secretary of CPC Xicheng District Committee and Mayor of Xicheng District People’s Government of Beijing Municipality; Zhou Jusheng, Deputy Director of Technology and Education, National Cultural Heritage Administration; Lou Wei, Executive Deputy Director of the Palace Museum; Zhu Hongwen, Deputy Director of the Palace Museum, Ann Kung, IoP Deputy Chairman and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust; Dr Eric Li, IoP Director; Dr Rosanna Wong, IoP Director; Dr Gabriel Leung, IoP Director and Executive Director, Charities and Community of The Hong Kong Jockey Club; and Raymond Tam, IoP Director and Executive Director, Corporate Affairs of The Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Lou Wei, Executive Deputy Director of the Palace Museum, said that in recent years, the Palace Museum had completed a digital visual data collection of almost one million historical artifacts. These are available to the public through “The Palace Museum’s Collection Online Platform” and “365 Days of Masterpiece” digital platform.  As the 3.0 version of the museum’s digital showcase, the Great Hall of Exalted Mystery Digital Gallery is a consequence of continuous museum efforts to promote digitalised cultural heritage conservation and enhance the discovery, presentation and dissemination of digitalised artifacts. It is also a resource for the museum’s academic research and supports youth education. The exhibition is a key element under an IoP-supported project called “Promotion of Chinese Culture and Arts Tech Talent Development in the Mainland and Hong Kong”. The Palace Museum and IoP share this project’s vision, open-mindedness and creativity, which is designed to promote the essence of Chinese culture in innovative ways to enhance its development.

Lester Huang, IoP Chairman and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, said that the collaboration between IoP and the Palace Museum aims to promote traditional Chinese culture, nurture arts tech talents and develop Hong Kong into a centre for international cultural exchange. He noted a beautiful harmony between the horse-culture exhibition and the Palace Museum’s deep cultural heritage.  The exhibition reflects the morale of a society past and symbolically demonstrates appreciation for China’s equestrian tradition through historical collections of horse-related artifacts. The hope is young people will learn about courage, endeavour and perseverance from the exhibition while appreciating the power of the latest digital technology.
The “Galloping Through Time: Digital Reimagination of Horse Art and Culture” exhibition is due to run until 31 March 2026 (tentative). In high-precision detail it digitally presents more than 500 horse-related artefacts from the museum’s collection. Through showing the connection between horses and humans in a creative way, the aim is to help visitors appreciate the multiple contributions of the horse to human history. The exhibition is divided into six themes: “The charger thundering in gallop”; “The rider breaking boundaries”; “The courser heralding triumph”; “The winged-steed soaring high”; “The stallion winning glory”; and “The emissary knowing all roads” – each echoing horse characteristics or carrying divine symbolism.

This is the inaugural exhibition of The Great Hall of Exalted Mystery Digital Gallery, the Palace Museum’s newly established second gallery with full digital capabilities. It not only showcases Palace Museum records and relics digitally, but also displays them in an exhibition format with research and educational functionality. The gallery serves as both a one-stop library of artifacts and a digital exhibition hall.  

About The Institute of Philanthropy
The Institute of Philanthropy was established in September 2023 through a strategic seed grant of HK$6.8 billion (US$870 million) from The Hong Kong Jockey Club and its Charities Trust. Established as an independent “think-fund-do” tank for China and Asia, IoP is dedicated to promoting philanthropic thought leadership and enhancing sector capabilities at local, regional and global levels in collaboration with fellow funders. It seeks to provide an Asia-based platform bringing global stakeholders together to promote the betterment of societies everywhere.