"Discover the Hall of Mental Cultivation" Digital Experience Exhibition Opens Today Travel through time and space to experience the emperor's day in the Hall of Mental Cultivation

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 25th anniversary of Macao's return to the motherland, the Macao Science Center (MSC) and the Palace Museum jointly hosted the "Discover the Hall of Mental Cultivation" digital experience exhibition. It is the first time the Palace Museum has held a digital exhibition in the Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. Through the application of digital technology, the exhibition "moved" the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where eight emperors once lived, from the Forbidden City in Beijing to Macao, allowing the public to experience the interesting details of the emperor's handling of government affairs and life here. The exhibition will be held from now until October 31 at Gallery 2 of MSC Exhibition Center.

Since the reign of Emperor Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty, the Hall of Mental Cultivation has been the emperor's bedroom and power center. It is one of the most important palaces in the Forbidden City. Its name comes from Mencius, which states, "For mental cultivation, there is nothing better than to have few desires". Living in a place with such a name, the emperors were encouraged to reduce their desires, as the best way to cultivate their minds. As the Hall of Mental Cultivation is undergoing a large-scale renovation, to make up for the temporary inability of visitors to enter the Hall, this exhibition combines ancient architecture, traditional culture, and modern technology, as well as utilizes advanced technologies such as tangible interaction, 3D modeling, and virtual reality, to present how emperors worked and lived in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Through interactive technology, visitors can imitate the emperor to read the memorials, dress up in court costumes, and personally prepare delicious imperial cuisine. They can also enter the Hall of Three Rarities, the favorite imperial study of the Qianlong Emperor, to take photos or view precious relics, experiencing the emperor's day in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

This afternoon, MSC held an opening ceremony for the "Discover the Hall of Mental Cultivation" digital experience exhibition. Officiating guests include Wan Sucheng, Director of the Department of Publicity and Culture, LOCPG, Mok Ian Ian, President of the Board of Directors of Macao Science Center Limited, Zhu Hongwen, Vice President of the Palace Museum, Lok Bo, President of Macao Daily News, Che Weng Keong and Iun Pui Iun, Vice-President of the Shareholders of Macao Science Center Limited, Wong Ka Ki, Vice-President and President of Executive Committee, Kuan Ho Weng, President of the Supervisory Committee, and Curator Sio Hon Pan, Board Member and Executive Committee Member.

In his speech, Zhu Hongwen, Vice President of the Palace Museum, stated that the museum will work together with institutions of cultural relics and museums, including MSC, and all sectors of society to showcase and disseminate the rich cultural resources of the Palace Museum in a way that is more interesting, innovative, and closer to public life so that the excellent traditional Chinese culture contained in cultural relics can better benefit contemporary society.

Mok Ian Ian, President of the Board of Directors of Macao Science Center Limited, stated that the Macao Science Center was awarded the title of National Science Popularization and Education Base and joined the China Alliance of Sci-Tech and Cultural Institutions in 2022. One of the initiators of the alliance is the Palace Museum. To help implement the national deployment of promoting the integration and sharing of science and technology museums, cultural museums, and other museums, and to help improve the scientific and cultural literacy of citizens, MSC has for the first time engaged in cross-border cooperation with the important national cultural institution, the Palace Museum, to jointly host the "Discover the Hall of Mental Cultivation" digital experience exhibition. Utilizing digital technology and innovative means, the exhibition explores the inheritance, development, and dissemination of excellent traditional Chinese culture, fully demonstrating the perfect integration of technology and culture. It is hoped that the exhibition will open a new chapter in the integration of technology and culture, promote the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture, and inspire the public, especially the young, to embrace technological innovation and respect and protect traditional culture.

During the exhibition, MSC will launch nearly 80 extension activities of different types, including four lectures given by experts from the Palace Museum, weekend drama guided tours titled Journey to the Forbidden City Following a Wonderful Painter, and parent-child workshops themed on reading pop-up books to visit the Forbidden City and creating miniature models. At the exhibition site, photo printing services are also available for those wearing court costumes and participating in the "Instant photo" game.

On May 1 and 5 at 3:00 p.m. and May 4 at 12:00 p.m., the Center will hold workshops at FabLab themed on reading pop-up books to visit the Forbidden City and creating miniature models to explain the architecture, culture, and scientific stories of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, suitable for children aged 5 to 12 to participate. Visitors who register through the Macao One Account APP can enter the exhibition center and visit the exhibition for free. A small number of on-site registration places are available for each workshop on a first-come, first-served basis. In addition, the first two lectures given by experts from the Palace Museum will be held on May 11 and 12. Huang Moqiao, Deputy Director of the Digital and Information Department of the Palace Museum, and Guan Xueling, Researcher at the History Department of the Palace Museum, will respectively introduce in detail the professional knowledge of digital exhibitions and digital resource management, as well as the technological products and Western artifacts collected or used by emperors of the Qing Dynasty, under the topics of "Digital Dissemination of Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture" and "Technology in the Qing Dynasty Palace". Members of the public can also register to participate through the Macao One Account APP.

The standard ticket price for the "Discover the Hall of Mental Cultivation" digital experience exhibition is MOP20. Visitors must purchase a ticket for the exhibition center at the same time before entering. The public may purchase on-the-day tickets from the ticketing office and self-service ticket machines located in the lobby of MSC, as well as MSC's website or its WeChat official account. For details, please visit the ticket guide from the website (www.msc. org.mo).

Macao Science Center is open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from Monday to Sunday regardless of public holidays, and is closed on Thursdays and Lunar New Year's Eve. Please check the latest announcements on Macao Science Center's official website (www.msc.org.mo) and social media accounts for more event information and news.