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.

The TWGHs “iRun” – The Hong Kong Jockey Club Special Marathon 2026 (iRun) took place today (11 January) along the Central and Western District Promenade and Lung Wo Road. This year, the event, supported by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, saw a record turnout of over 5,500 runners of varying abilities and their pair-up partners joined the fun while promoting social inclusion.

Over 5,500 runners, including participants of varying abilities and their pair-up partners, participated in iRun 2026 to promote social inclusion within the community.

Among the officiating guests cheering on the runners were HKSAR Government Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun, Club Steward Philip Lo and Tung Wah Group of Hospitals the 1st Vice-Chairman York Tseng.

HKSAR Government Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun (3rd left), Club Steward Philip Lo (3rd right) and Tung Wah Group of Hospitals the 1st Vice-Chairman York Tseng (2nd left) officiate at the TWGHs “iRun” – Hong Kong Jockey Club Special Marathon 2026.

Club Steward Philip Lo (centre) receives a souvenir from HKSAR Government Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun (left), accompanied by Tung Wah Group of Hospitals the 4th Vice-Chairman cum Chairman of Community Services Committee Jason Lee (right).

HKSAR Government Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun (centre), Club Steward Philip Lo (right) and iRun ambassador So Wa-wai (left).

Speaking at the ceremony, Club Steward Philip Lo emphasised that the significance of iRun extends beyond a single day of competition. The initiative provides diverse support to improve participants’ physical health and foster social inclusion. The Club has always placed great emphasis on the community’s needs, with “Health” being one of the strategic priorities of its Charity’s Trust. It consistently supports various organisations, including the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs), to launch initiatives that promote healthy lifestyles and enhance citizens’ overall quality of life.

Club Steward Philip Lo delivers a speech at the starting ceremony of the TWGHs “iRun” – Hong Kong Jockey Club Special Marathon 2026.

Organised by TWGHs and supported by the Trust since 2012, iRun aims to give people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to experience the joy of sports and become more involved with the community. 

A member of the CARE@hkjc Volunteer Team and runner pose for a photo.

This year’s event welcomed participants not only from Hong Kong but also Beijing, Guangdong Province and Macau. Runners with intellectual disabilities were paired with volunteers in a 3km challenge race, with pre-race training sessions arranged to help pairs get to know each other. The winning teams will receive sponsorship to participate in marathons outside Hong Kong, broadening their horizons and boosting their self-esteem.

Club Steward Philip Lo with CARE@hkjc Volunteer Team members and runners.

This year, the event once again hosted the 1km “iRun for Family”, giving children aged six to 11 with intellectual disabilities and their families the chance to enjoy sporting fun together. To further promote social inclusion, a new “1km iRun Group” race was introduced to include participants with disabilities such as visually impairment, hearing impairment or those undergoing mental rehabilitation. About 800 volunteers, including members of the Club’s CARE@hkjc Volunteer Team, participated as pair-up runners or helpers to share the joy of running.

CARE@hkjc Volunteer Team members and runners receive the trophy for the Corporate Social Inclusion Tournament.

Additionally, the “i-Runners’ Club” provides regular training for participants under the guidance of professional coaches, while “Green Marathon” elements remain integral to the event to encourage waste reduction and recycling, and advocate for environmental awareness.

The Club’s support for iRun, 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.

Club Steward Philip Lo with CARE@hkjc Volunteer Team members and runners.