Returning home

Given their extensive overseas connections, Hong Kong and Macao are also significant hubs for the recovery of looted national treasures.

The bronze horse's head escorted by Wang was looted from the Old Summer Palace by British and French troops during the Second Opium War (1856-60), along with 11 other zodiac animal heads and numerous national treasures.

Bought by late Macao tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun from a Taiwan collector in 2007, and donated to the nation in 2019, the figure was later preserved in a temple at the Summer Palace, becoming the venue's first important cultural relic to be returned to its home.

In 2019, Huaxie International Fine Art Freight Services Co helped return to the mainland letters written by Zheng Zhenduo, a cultural relics protection pioneer.

Zheng, a high-level official in charge of cultural affairs for the People's Republic of China in the 1950s, was tasked with recovering lost treasures from Hong Kong during that time. Due to his efforts, many precious works of calligraphy and art from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties were returned to the motherland.

The letters vividly document details and anecdotes from Zheng's mission. Bought by a mainland auction company at a sale in Hong Kong, they were later donated to the nation and kept at the National Library of China.

Wang believes that as China becomes more powerful, and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's cultural influence rises on the world stage, more cultural relics will be returned to the mainland via Hong Kong and Macao.

Wider collaboration

Hong Kong, an ideal stage for showcasing the nation's history and culture, has also hosted many signature collections.

For example, master painter Wu Guanzhong (1919-2010) and his family donated more than 450 works to the Hong Kong Museum of Art. The museum, a key global center for collections of modern Chinese paintings and research, boasts the largest and most diverse collection of Wu's works.

It is also home to a highly valued collection of paintings by artists from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Ming and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) rule was stricken by nearly 100 years of warfare and turmoil. With China struggling to ward off domestic rebels and foreign invaders, patriotic Ming artists expressed grief and distress in their work.

Ma Fung-kwok, a Hong Kong legislator from the Election Committee who used to represent the sports, performing arts, culture and publication sectors, said the city and mainland have maintained a strong connection in exhibiting cultural relics in past decades.

Cross-border exhibitions not only give an economic boost to related cultural industries, but more important, they play a significant role for people on both sides of the border to better appreciate culture and artistic appeal. They also offer Hong Kong people a glimpse of the nation's storied history.

Given the city's status as a global arts trading center, Ma said Hong Kong has a large number of high-quality private collections of cultural relics, such as gold items, colored glaze, clothing and furniture.

He hopes there are more opportunities to exhibit such treasures on the mainland. Ma also envisions Hong Kong loaning the mainland exhibits representing the nation's diverse history — including those from prehistoric civilizations — for the public to form a more comprehensive understanding of the nation's past.

Abundant cultural resources in nearby cities can also be better used.

There are hundreds of small but distinctive museums in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Dongguan boasts an Opium War museum, while Jiangmen has one that showcases the history and culture of overseas Chinese. Ma hopes various cities in the Bay Area hold a joint exhibition in Hong Kong.

In the long run, Hong Kong has huge potential to hold more top-level cross-regional exhibitions showcasing civilizations in countries taking part in the Belt and Road Initiative, or exchanges of Eastern and Western cultures. After being displayed in Hong Kong, mainland treasures could be exhibited overseas, and foreign collections could also be showcased on the mainland, Ma said.