A large-scale exhibition celebrating the cultural and artistic significance of the horse opened to the public on Friday at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, ushering in the Year of the Horse with a showcase of masterpieces of Chinese horse paintings.

Titled “Heavenly Horses: Masterpieces from the Palace Museum”, the event features nearly 100 works by over 60 renowned artists, spanning from the Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) to the 20th century.

Among these works are 76 exquisite paintings from the Palace Museum, including 15 grade-one national treasures. The exhibition also includes significant loans from the Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Art Museum of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

As the HKPM’s first exhibition in 2026, “Heavenly Horses” will run through March 17, 2027.

The exhibition is jointly organized by the HKPM and the Palace Museum, exclusively sponsored by the Institute of Philanthropy, and is one of the highlights in the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Year of the Horse campaign.

The exhibition will unfold in four rotations, each with approximately 20 works on display, according to the organizers.

The first section, “The Court: Horseback Travels and Mounted Archery”, presents works by court painters depicting scenes of imperial excursions and historical anecdotes, while the second section, titled “The Frontiers: Hooves in the Dust”, will focus on paintings set in the borderlands.

Titled “Landscapes of Mind and Steed”, the third section tells tales of literati with horses as their travel companions in landscape paintings.

The final section, “East and West: Steeds Across Time”, features an array of works from the late Qing dynasty to the modern era, illustrating influences from Europe and beyond on Chinese painters’ new approaches to horse painting.

The exhibition features a variety of creative arts-tech interactive experiences and educational activities. One highlight is the launch of the HKPM’s first AI-powered installation inside the galleries, inviting visitors to create their own horse paintings in Chinese and European styles.

Since its opening in 2022, the HKPM has greatly contributed to promoting cultural tourism in Hong Kong, said Michael Wong Wai-lun, the deputy financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, at the exhibition's opening ceremony on Thursday.

“The museum has become a must-visit destination for many tourists to Hong Kong, and has exerted tremendous international influence in telling the good stories of Hong Kong and China, and further promoting Chinese culture,” he said.

Lou Wei, executive deputy director of the Palace Museum, said ‘Heavenly Horses’ guides visitors to explore the artistic vision of renowned masters and uncovers the social landscapes, spiritual aspirations, and cultural exchanges of different eras, offering a deeper understanding of the profound richness and refined subtleties of Chinese civilization.

Leo Kung, chairman of the HKPM Board, said the event brought together equine masterpieces by celebrated artists across dynasties, offering a most fitting celebration of the occasion.