Significant historical material on display at CityU: Revisit the process of co-building the Maritime Silk Road by Guangzhou and Macau
As part of the efforts to promote the nomination of the Maritime Silk Road as a new UNESCO World Heritage Site, to implement plans to protect and utilize documentary heritage inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, to facilitate cultural exchanges in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and to disseminate Lingnan culture, a picture exhibition and symposium were jointly held by the Counselors’ Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province (Research Institute of Culture and History), the Council for the Promotion of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Cooperation, the City University of Macau (Memory of the World Knowledge Center – Macau), the Macau Documentation and Information Society and the Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs Museum, with the support of the Guangzhou Association for the Promotion of Thirteen Hongs Culture, the Center for Macaulogy of Jinan University, the Canton’s Thirteen Hongs Research Center of Guangzhou University, Guangzhou Jiachen Cultural Communication Co., Ltd., the Guangzhou DSPPA Audio Museum and MGM. The picture exhibition, entitled “Maritime Silk Road · Memory of Two Cities – The Imprint of Guangzhou and Macau in Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs of Qing Dynasty”, was opened at the Ho Yin Convention Center, City University of Macau (CityU), on the morning of April 20, 2021.
In his welcome address, Vice-Rector of CityU Zhou Wanlei noted that Guangzhou and Macau, with the same Lingnan origin, both served as important windows to the Maritime Silk Road and foreign trade in history, as well as bridges in exchanges between the East and the West, adding that the two cities have a lot of historical memories to share. On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of CityU’s founding, he stated his belief that the jointly launched events are of extraordinary significance. He also pointed out that the aim of the Memory of the World Knowledge Center – Macau, the first academic center ever established by the UNESCO Memory of the World Program’s Sub-Committee on Education and Research (SCEaR), is to promote research and education on historical heritage, particularly historical documentation and material, and in the future, to further strengthen cooperation with the Greater Bay Area and reinforce the university’s international ties.
Yang Hanqing, Director of the Counselors’ Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, began his speech by expressing his congratulations on the 40th anniversary of CityU’s founding. He said it is of great significance for the Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs Museum to take its exhibitions out of Guangdong for the first time, and also for the first time, to hold such an activity in cooperation with the UNESCO Memory of the World Program. As he pointed out, the Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs of the Qing Dynasty, an integral part of the Maritime Silk Road in ancient China, occupied a key place in the history of economy and trade. He emphasized the significance of this exhibition and symposium for the public to revisit the history of the Thirteen Hongs, explore Cantonese business culture and promote the Thirteen Hongs to the world, especially in the context of the national efforts to construct the Greater Bay Area and the efforts made on the part of Guangdong to build itself into a strategic center featuring domestic-international dual circulation and a culture-rich province.
Counselor Li Li of the Counselors’ Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, as the Art Director of this exhibition, recognized the influence of the flourishing Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs of the Qing Dynasty on the rapid development of Guangdong and Macau in terms of economy, trade, society, culture, art, education and medicine. She remarked that the Thirteen Hongs, in some sense, contributed to the prosperity of the two cities today and played a fascinating role in China’s foreign trade.
At the opening ceremony, on behalf of Guangzhou Jiachen Cultural Communication Co., Ltd., Lin Difu presented the Memory of the World Knowledge Center – Macau with a digital photo frame that features the innovative technology of document restoration, as a gift in celebration of the 40th anniversary of CityU’s founding, which was received by Pro-Rector Wicky So on behalf of the university.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the hosts organized a visit for the guests to the exhibition at the Students’ Corner. The exhibition featured five major themes, namely “Treasures of Maritime Trade”, “Brilliance of the Pearl River”, “Overwhelming Charm of Macau”, “Golden Silk Road” and “Profoundness”. A total of 233 pictures were exhibited, including pictures of relics from the Guangzhou Thirteen Hongs Museum, paintings exported overseas during the Qing Dynasty now housed in museums and galleries around the world, and historical documentation and material from the Memory of the World Knowledge Center – Macau, to demonstrate the history of Guangzhou and Macau co-building the Maritime Silk Road. The exhibition was open until May 7, 2021.
Afterwards, guests and scholars attended the “Maritime Silk Road · Memory of Two Cities” symposium held in the International Conference Room of CityU’s Tai Fung Building. The meeting was presided over by Ieong Hoi Keng and Li Li and attended by keynote speakers including Ye Nong, Director of the Center for Macaulogy of Jinan University, Wang Yuanlin, Contract Research Fellow of the Counselors’ Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province, Wang Rui, Associate Professor of the Canton’s Thirteen Hongs Research Center of Guangzhou University, and Zhou Haixia, Associate Professor of Hanshan Normal University, to discuss Macau’s historical connection with the Thirteen Hongs, the development of the UNESCO Memory of the World Program, and cooperation projects, among others.
The events involved more than 70 guests, including Zheng Xinyou, Director of the Department of Information and Public Diplomacy, Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Macau Special Administrative Region; Lei Ka Ian, Assistant at the Department of Publicity and Culture, Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macau S.A.R.; Director Yang Hanqing, Deputy Director Zhou Gao and Counselor Li Li of the Counselors’ Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province (Research Institute of Culture and History); Lin Difu, Executive President of the Council for the Promotion of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Cooperation; Lai Chan Keong, Member of the Administration Council of the Macau Foundation; Wang Heng, President of the Guangzhou Association for the Promotion of Thirteen Hongs Culture; Cheng Wai Tong, Deputy Director of the Macau Government Tourism Office; Teng Sio Hong, Deputy Director of the Education and Youth Development Bureau; Senior Technician Lou Ho Ian, representative of President Mok Ian Ian of the Cultural Affairs Bureau; renowned educator and president Lau Sin Peng; Catarina Lio, Vice-President of Brand Marketing of MGM; Sun Yanming, Vice-President of Guangzhou University; Wu Jianzhong, Curator of the University of Macau Library; Ye Nong, Director of the Center for Macaulogy of Jinan University; Master Mio Chi, President of the General Association of Macau Buddhist Youths; Vice-Rector Zhou Wanlei, Pro-Rector Wicky So and Curator Shi Limei of CityU, representatives of the Macau hosts; Ieong Hoi Keng, Chairman of the Committee of the Memory of the World Knowledge Center – Macau and Director of the Macau Documentation and Information Society, and Deputy Director Sam Chan Fai, as well as historical research and relic protection scholars, university presidents, teachers, and representatives of libraries, archives, museums and cultural societies from Guangdong and Macau.
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Source: City University of Macau Library
Pictures: CityU Reporter
