Institute of Philanthropy exclusively sponsors “Galloping Through Time: Digital Reimagination of Horse Art and Culture” exhibition – decoding a thousand years of horse culture

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.

Select exhibits at the “Galloping Through Time: Digital Reimagination of Horse Art and Culture” exhibition.

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.

Select exhibits at the “Galloping Through Time: Digital Reimagination of Horse Art and Culture” exhibition.

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.

Officiating guests at the “Galloping Through Time: Digital Reimagination of Horse Art and Culture” exhibition opening ceremony included Dr Wang Xudong, Member, Party Leadership Group of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and Director of the Palace Museum (front row, 3rd right); Lester Huang, IoP Chairman and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (front row, 3rd left); Amy Yuen, Acting Director, Beijing Office of HKSAR Government (front row, 1st left); Du Haijiang, Secretary of the CPC Palace Museum Committee and Deputy Director of The Palace Museum (front row, 2nd left); Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, IoP Director and CEO of The Hong Kong Jockey Club (front row, 2nd right); and Li Xiaocheng, Chairman of The Forbidden City Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation (front row, 1st right). Other guests included Wang Liming, Inspector Level I, Department of Technology and Education, Ministry of Culture and Tourism (back row, 5th left); Zhi Haijie, Deputy Secretary of CPC Xicheng District Committee and Mayor of Xicheng District People’s Government of Beijing Municipality (back row, 4th left); Zhou Jusheng, Deputy Director of Technology and Education, National Cultural Heritage Administration (back row, 3rd left); Lou Wei, Executive Deputy Director of the Palace Museum (back row, 2nd left); Zhu Hongwen, Deputy Director of the Palace Museum (back row, 1st left) ; Ann Kung, IoP Deputy Chairman and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust (back row, 5th right); Dr Eric Li, IoP Director (back row, 4th right); Dr Rosanna Wong, IoP Director (back row, 3rd right); Dr Gabriel Leung, IoP Director and Executive Director, Charities and Community of The Hong Kong Jockey Club (back row, 1st right); and Raymond Tam, IoP Director and Executive Director, Corporate Affairs of The Hong Kong Jockey Club (back row, 2nd right).

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.

Lester Huang, IoP Chairman and Trustee of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony.

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.

Guests tour the “Galloping Through Time: Digital Reimagination of Horse Art and Culture” exhibition.

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.

Guests tour the “Galloping Through Time: Digital Reimagination of Horse Art and Culture” exhibition.

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.

In support of cross‑sector collaboration to advance sustainable development, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, through its Charities Trust, has approved a donation of over HK$426 million to support The University of Hong Kong (HKU) in establishing and operating the HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute. The donation also supports the creation of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Endowed Professorships, with the aim of bringing together distinguished international scholars from diverse fields to provide global insights into local needs and to transform research findings into practical policy recommendations and solutions for a more liveable and resilient Hong Kong - so contributing to the betterment of society.

Rimsky Yuen, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Steward (left) and Prof Xiang Zhang, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong (right) officiate at the dedication ceremony of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Endowed Professorships.

The dedication ceremony of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Endowed Professorships was held on 5 May. Attending guests included Rimsky Yuen, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Steward, Prof Xiang Zhang, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong; Prof Yang Wang, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Institutional Advancement) of The University of Hong Kong; Professor Hongbin Cai, Dean of Business School of The University of Hong Kong and three endowed professors: Professor Guojun He, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Professor in Economics; Professor Jeffrey Ng, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Professor in Accounting, and Professor Uta Schönberg, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Professor in Economics.

Rimsky Yuen, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Steward (3rd left); Prof Xiang Zhang, President and Vice-Chancellor of The University of Hong Kong (centre); Prof Yang Wang, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Institutional Advancement) of The University of Hong Kong (1st left); Professor Hongbin Cai, Dean of Business School of The University of Hong Kong; and the three endowed professors (2nd left): Professor Guojun He, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Professor in Economics (3rd right); Professor Jeffrey Ng, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Professor in Accounting (1st right), and Professor Uta Schönberg, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Professor in Economics (2nd right) attend the dedication ceremony of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Endowed Professorships.

Congratulating the four eminent scholars on their appointments, including Professor Roni Michaely, The Hong Kong Jockey Club Professor in Finance and Entrepreneurship, who was unable to attend the ceremony, Club Steward Rimsky Yuen said that, with the support of the four endowed professorships, the institute is well-placed to become a world-class knowledge hub, providing actionable insights that can deliver meaningful impact in Hong Kong, Asia and beyond. He added that the Club has supported many groundbreaking initiatives at HKU over the years. This reflects the Club’s long-standing investment in human capital and higher education, and its commitment to nurturing leaders who can propel the city’s economic development and sustain the prosperity of the nation.

Club Steward Rimsky Yuen delivers a speech at the dedication ceremony of The Hong Kong Jockey Club Endowed Professorships.

The HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute aims to become a world-class hub for Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) and Sustainability best practice in Hong Kong, Asia and beyond with respect to three core aspects:

1）Research — Create four endowed professorships in the disciplines of economics, finance, entrepreneurship, and accounting. Under the leadership of the appointed scholars, the Institute will foster multidisciplinary collaboration and integrate knowledge with practice and transform top-tier research into actionable solutions.
2）Engagement — Develop a sustainability index, offer consultancy and advisory services, and organise conferences, seminars and international summits to facilitate dialogues and forge cross‑sector partnerships.
3）Education — Curate sustainability related courses and interdisciplinary initiatives to equip forward-looking sustainability professionals.

The Club’s support for the HKU Jockey Club Enterprise Sustainability Global Research Institute, like all its charity and community donations, is made possible by its unique integrated business model through which racing and responsible sports wagering generate substantial tax contributions, charity support and employment opportunities for Hong Kong.

Group photo.