By Li Shouen / Qian Jingtong, CCTV.com Reporters

As the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China and establishment of the HK Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will be marked in less than a week on July 1, a series of activities have been held in Hong Kong to celebrate the grand occasion.

As one of the highlight programs, Hong Kong is hosting a two-day international Museum Summit themed with Museums in a New Era on June 26-27 at the Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Chief Secretary of Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung opened the event, which has gathered over 20 leading figures in this field from world-renowned institutions, including Shan Jixiang, Director of Palace Museum of China, Thomas P. Campbell, Director of the US Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Elena Yurievna Gagarina, General Director of Russia's Moscow Kremlin Museums.

Group photo of main delegates to the Museum Summit   Photo/Li Shouen

In the opening remarks, Mr. Cheung said Hong Kong has promoted the development of a vibrant and colorful culture in the region. "Our private and public museums aspire to connect our visitors with the rich cultural legacy in the areas of art, history, and science and have made remarkable progress," he said.

Mr. Shan delivered a speech on how to revitalize cultural heritages to share with participants his experiences over how to 'marry' tradition with modernity at the Palace Museum. He introduced reform measures to balance the huge amount of visitors and the museum's capacity; and also demonstrated the museum's digitalization progress and achievements.

He gave examples of how the museum is using modern technology to construct the 'digital Palace Museum' to display real ancient architecture and antiques in front of visitors in a new, digital format.

The high-tech VR (Virtual Reality) is also absorbed by the Palace Museum, Mr. Shan explained, with the VR glasses, visitors can 'immerge' into a 'real situation' and can get a taste of 'imperial life.'

Delegates from India, the US, Russia, the UK, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, France, HK and Macao SARs will also share their insights on the important role museums are playing to promote cultural exchanges among nations and regions, along with visions on building 'museums without walls' in the new digital era, as well as balancing tradition and new technology in the museum experience.

The summit is presented by the Leisure & Cultural Services Department of HKSAR, in association with Beijing's Palace Museum, which is the first time for Hong Kong to host the international Museum Summit.

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