The Macau Palace Museum Cultural Heritage Preservation and Inheritance Centre was jointly inaugurated by Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng and Palace Museum Director Wang Xudong yesterday afternoon, with the new facility aiming to further enhance Macau’s ability to ensure the protection of its cultural heritage sites, the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) said in a statement last night.
Jointly established by the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) government and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in Beijing, the new centre is located on the ground floor of the Macau Museum of Art (MAM) in Nape, covering 900 square metres, where professionals from the Palace Museum in the nation’s capital will provide technical support for the protection and restoration of Macau’s cultural heritage sites and other historic buildings.
The centre’s inaugural plaque was jointly unveiled by Ho and Wang during yesterday’s ceremony, which was also attended by Central People’s Government Liaison Office in the MSAR Director Zheng Xincong, Foreign Ministry Commissioner Liu Xianfa, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U, and Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC) President Deland Leong Wai Man.
In addition to laboratories for the restoration of cultural heritage sites, the centre is also equipped with exhibition spaces, the statement said.
The centre’s exhibition spaces are open to members of the public free of charge, with the same opening hours as the Macau Museum of Art, namely between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily except Mondays, but visitors cannot enter the facilities after 6:30 p.m.
Last night’s statement underlined that the centre aims to strengthen the preservation, restoration, education and promotion of Macau’s cultural heritage and to contribute to Macau developing itself into an exchange and cooperation base with Chinese culture as its mainstream and co-existence of different cultures.
The statement noted that the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Macau government signed a deal in 2019 for their joint establishment of the Macau Palace Museum Cultural Heritage Preservation and Inheritance Centre, which was inaugurated yesterday.
The statement said that professionals from the Palace Museum will provide advice on and technical support for the restoration of Macau’s cultural heritage.
The new centre will help the local government enhance its ability to carry out the preservation and restoration of sites in the UNESCO World Heritage-protected Historic Centre of Macau and all other statutorily protected cultural heritage sites across the city as well as other historic buildings, by making good use of advanced technology.
In addition, the statement said, the centre will also strengthen the training of local professionals for the restoration of cultural heritage and help Macau further improve its system for protecting its cultural heritage.
The statement said that as the first cultural facility jointly run by the Macau government and the Palace Museum, the establishment and operation of the centre highlights the central government’s strong support for Macau’s cultural development.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (right), Central People’s Government Liaison Office in Macau Director Zheng Xincong (second from right), Foreign Ministry Commissioner Liu Xianfa (third from right), and Palace Museum Director Wang Xudong (left) look at an exhibit in the exhibition spaces of the newly inaugurated Macau Palace Museum Cultural Heritage Preservation and Inheritance Centre, located on the ground floor of the Macau Museum of Art (MAM) in Nape, yesterday. – Photo: IC
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (right) and Palace Museum Director Wang Xudong yesterday unveil the inaugural plaque of the Macau Palace Museum Cultural Heritage Preservation and Inheritance Centre, located on the ground floor of the Macau Museum of Art (MAM) in Nape. – Photo: IC
