ENG-2007 — Page 454

382 Recreation, Sport and the Arts

a huge number of visitors of all nationalities to the museum to see this rare gem of historical Chinese art. Another crowd-puller was the 'Treasures of the World's Cultures from the British Museum'. Some 270 artefacts from Europe, Asia, the Oceania, the Americas and Africa, all depicting different facets of civilisation, were exhibited at the event, courtesy of the British Museum. More than 419 000 people visited the three exhibitions.

Hong

Other thematic exhibitions held during the year included 'Chinglish Kong Art Exhibition', 'Made in Hong Kong Contemporary Art Exhibition', 'Ant Inheritance of Virtuosity: Donated Chinese Paintings of Ho Chat-yuen', 'The Chater Legacy -A Selection of the Chater Collection', 'Collecting and Inheriting: A Selection of Paintings, Calligraphy of the Ming and Qing Dynasties from the Xubaizhai Collection' and 'Early 20th Century Guangdong Painting and Gems of Chinese Ceramics from the Hong Kong Museum of Art'. More than 574 000 people visited the exhibitions.

The museum also organised a wide range of educational activities. 'The Pride of China' International Academic Lecture Series, comprising 21 lectures, given by renowned scholars and curators from around the world, were well attended by academics and members of the public. The Hong Kong Museum of Art also held a number of events to celebrate its 45th anniversary. These included a photo display, a 'Meet the Curators' open forum, and a new 'Outdoor Sculpture Mobile Tour', all designed to enhance the public's knowledge of the museum.

Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware

The Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware collection features various kinds of tea ware and related vessels from the collection of the late Dr K S Lo as well as rare Chinese ceramics and seals donated by the K S Lo Foundation. Three special and two permanent exhibitions were held in 2007. They were the 'Poetry and Ceramic Art: Collection of the Hong Kong Museum of Art' and the 'K S Lo Collection of the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware' which featured refined ceramic tea vessels dating from the Tang dynasty to the 20th century and introduced tea poetry of different eras; the '2007 Tea Ware by Hong Kong Potters' which featured outstanding works by 69 local potters selected from a tea ware competition and the 'Japanese Tea Ceremony Utensils Exhibition' which featured Japanese tea utensils that originated from, or inspired by the Chinese tea culture as well as vessels commonly used at Japanese tea ceremonies. More than 176 000 people visited the museum during the year.

Hong Kong Museum of History

In addition to the permanent exhibition, entitled 'The Hong Kong Story', the Hong Kong Museum of History held a number of thematic exhibitions during the year. Some of these were held in collaboration with museums and cultural institutions. on the Mainland. These included exhibitions called 'Ancient Chinese Civilisation — Treasures of the Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties from Henan Province', 'Major Archaeological Discoveries of China in Recent Years' and 'The Development of Banks in Shanghai and Hong Kong'. These joint presentations facilitated academic