Xi attends Hong Kong Palace Museum cooperation agreement signing ceremony

Chinese President Xi Jinping Thursday afternoon attended a signing ceremony for cooperation agreement on the development of the Hong Kong Palace Museum.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (C, rear) attends a signing ceremony for cooperation agreement on the development of the Hong Kong Palace Museum at the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong, south China, on June 29, 2017. [Photo: Xinhua]

The mainland and the Hong Hong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will carry out cooperation in areas including relic display, personnel training and people-to-people exchange, according to the agreement.

The Palace Museum and Hong Kong authorities last year signed a memorandum of cooperation on the Hong Kong Palace Museum.

The collection of artworks at the Palace Museum will be displayed at the Hong Kong Palace Museum to enrich the cultural life of Hong Kong.

Xi showed great interest in the cultural and art development of Hong Kong, and was briefed on the planning of the West Kowloon Cultural District and the site selection and building of the Hong Kong Palace Museum.

The district can not only provide local residents with a convenient cultural and entertainment site, but is also conducive to the cultural and innovative industry development in the HKSAR, Xi said.

The president said that he hoped the HKSAR can carry forward the traditional culture, play its role as a platform facilitating the Chinese and Western cultural exchanges, and promote cultural exchange and cooperation with the mainland.

Xi watched some selections of Cantonese opera performed by children. He said that traditional cultural forms including Cantonese opera had new development opportunities after Hong Kong's return to the motherland.

He encouraged performers in Hong Kong and the mainland to carry out more exchanges with and learn from each other.

Xi's wife Peng Liyuan Thursday afternoon visited a local school in the HKSAR and watched student performance, saying children represented hope of the future. 

Xi arrived in Hong Kong earlier Thursday for a three-day trip to attend celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, and the inauguration of the fifth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. He will also inspect the special administrative region.