With a tiny diamond ring, the busy days of wedding preparation begin. Pre-wedding photos shoot, inviting bridesmaids and comrades and together planning for the banquet… The groom-to-be and bride-to-be nowadays in Hong Kong have certain norms to follow. How about the weddings in the old days?

“The Hong Kong Jockey Club Series: Ceremony and Celebration – The Grand Weddings of the Qing Emperors” is now exhibited at Hong Kong Heritage Museum, displaying 153 items/sets of exhibits selected from the rare and unique collections of The Palace Museum.

Two volumes of Zaitian dahundianli quantu ce (Comprehensive illustrated record of the grand wedding of Emperor Guangxu) exhaustively portrays the great scenes of the grand wedding of Emperor Guangxu. The gold seal engraved with “Huanghou zhibao” (Empress's seal) surmounted by a dragon knob bespeaks the legitimacy of the Empress. Impressive enough, its weight reaches 25 kg.

Other exhibition highlights include the bright yellow lined male dragon robe worn by Emperor Guangxu in his wedding, and the fencai bowls with butterfly and Double Happiness motifs on yellow ground, part of the dowry of Empress Tongzhi.

In addition, the Museum has launched an audio guide application ("Stories of the Qing Emperors' Grand Weddings"), providing detailed descriptions of the exhibits. The application is available in Cantonese, Putonghua and English.

Exhibition Highlights

Zaitian dahundianli quantu ce (Comprehensive illustrated record of the grand wedding of Emperor Guangxu) (Picture: Hong Kong Information Services Department)

Gold seal engraved with “Huanghou zhibao” (Empress's seal) surmounted by a dragon knob (Picture: Hong Kong Information Services Department)

The bright yellow lined male dragon robe (Picture: Hong Kong Jockey Club)

The fencai bowls with butterfly and Double Happiness motifs on yellow ground (Picture: Hong Kong Jockey Club)

Exhibition Details

Date: November 30,2016 - Feburary 27, 2017
Venue: Hong Kong Heritage Museum
Exhibition Website

Opening Information of Hong Kong Heritage of Museum

Opening Hours:
10:00 - 18:00, Mondays, Wednesdays to Fridays
10:00 - 19:00, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays
(Closed on Tuesdays)

Address:
1 Man Lam Road, Sha Tin, Hong Kong

Phone:
+852 2180 8188

Admission:
Free (An additional charge of HK$20 for this exhibition)