The spring breeze brushes over Victoria Harbour, and Hong Kong's "Art March" arrives as scheduled. As the first international event of the 2026 Hong Kong Arts Week, the Hong Kong International Cultural Summit Forum is once again held in the West Kowloon Cultural District after two years. Global cultural leaders gather in Hong Kong, and the West Kowloon Cultural District has signed contracts with 12 top international art and cultural institutions to expand the international cooperation map for this Asian cultural landmark. More than 20 years ago, we could hardly imagine that Hong Kong would have such a world-class cultural district. Nowadays, the development and influence of the West Kowloon Cultural District have far exceeded the initial expectations. ”Chen Zhisi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the West Kowloon Cultural District Management Bureau, sighed. The first Hong Kong International Cultural Summit Forum kicked off in the West Kowloon Cultural District in March 2024, from inviting guests to actively attend the event. At that time, the West Kowloon still had a bit of "greenness" - the Hong Kong Palace Museum had just opened, the M+Museum was accumulating international reputation, and the Cantonese opera of the Opera Center had just spread by the Victoria Harbour. At that time, we wanted to build a platform for cultural dialogue between China and foreign countries, but we were not sure how many responses from global peers this initial intention could attract. ”Chen Zhisi said. As a key event of Hong Kong's "Arts March" that year, the first forum gathered over 2000 representatives from cultural institutions at home and abroad for three consecutive days. The West Kowloon Cultural District signed letters of intent for cooperation with 21 top arts and cultural institutions from 11 countries and regions. In two years, 80% of the letters of intent have been successfully implemented. The West Kowloon Cultural District fulfills its promise with exciting events, allowing Hong Kong citizens to encounter the brilliance of world civilization right at their doorstep, and also allowing Chinese cultural heritage to take root in Hong Kong. What impressed Chen Zhisi the most was the significant change in the past two years - international guests changed from "inviting guests in person" to "actively attending appointments": "At the first forum, we had to communicate repeatedly, patiently explain, and persuade the leaders of top institutions to come. This time, many guests actively expressed their willingness, even contacted us in advance, hoping to join the cooperation." This recognition continued to give vitality to the second summit forum. This forum attracted nearly 30 heavyweight guests from 14 countries and regions, as well as thousands of industry professionals from home and abroad, to have in-depth exchanges on cutting-edge industry issues. The West Kowloon Cultural District has signed contracts with 12 top art and cultural institutions from Australia, France, Germany, and other countries, focusing on various fields such as program planning, talent exchange, and professional training. The growth of the West Kowloon Cultural District step by step proves the strength and charm of Hong Kong as a center for cultural and artistic exchanges between China and foreign countries. ”Chen Zhisi stood on the West Kowloon coast and looked at the sparkling Victoria Harbor in a firm tone. "The agreement of this peak is not the end, but a new starting point." From reclamation of mudflat to cultural hubs, from a reclamation of mudflat to world-class cultural hubs, the West Kowloon Cultural Zone has grown for no more than 20 years. Compared to New York and London, the West Kowloon Cultural District is young but has unique advantages. It is rooted in Chinese culture and has an international perspective, "said Chen Zhisi. On this cultural fertile land covering an area of about 40 hectares, there are not only the Hong Kong Palace Museum and the Opera Center carrying Eastern cultural heritage, but also M+and free spaces conveying the voice of contemporary art. There is also the West Kowloon Performing Arts Center, which will open in 2027 and will host excellent dance and drama works from China and abroad as top-level venues in the future. Chinese and Western cultures coexist and prosper here. As the first important cooperation project of the Palace Museum outside mainland China, the Hong Kong Palace Museum Cultural Museum has received nearly 4 million visitors and launched nearly 20 exhibitions since its opening more than three years ago. The Palace Museum has loaned out more than 1600 cultural relics, covering 25 categories, making "appreciating national treasures at home" a daily routine for Hong Kong citizens. The "Ancient Egyptian Civilization Exhibition - Collection of Egyptian Museums" exhibition, jointly organized by the Hong Kong Palace Museum and the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Egypt, has attracted over 290000 visitors in just a few months. M+, located adjacent to the Palace Museum in Hong Kong, will receive over 2.6 million visitors throughout 2025, with a cumulative total of over 10 million visits, successfully entering the ranks of the world's top modern and contemporary art museums. Major exhibitions such as the I.M. Pei Architecture Special Exhibition, the Zhao Wuji Art Retrospective Exhibition, and the Picasso and Asia Dialogue Exhibition have appeared one after another, each setting off a viewing frenzy and making Hong Kong an indispensable hub in the field of contemporary art in Asia. Chen Zhisi recalled an octogenarian who flew from Bangkok to Hong Kong specifically for the exhibition and returned on the day of the exhibition. As a cultural hub in Asia, Hong Kong is like a focal point where people of different countries and ages can encounter their desired cultures, "he said. There is an 11 hectare art park within the West Kowloon Cultural District, from the Art Palace to the "City Living Room", with a gentle sea breeze and a spacious seaside. Citizens take leisurely walks with their pets, or picnic and chat with their tablecloths. Some stop to appreciate outdoor art installations, while others run with the sea breeze, feeling at ease and composed. A major success of the West Kowloon Cultural District is that it has become everyone's' city living room '. ”Chen Zhisi introduced that by 2025, the entire West Kowloon Cultural District will receive over 17 million visitors, with nearly 70% of visitors from mainland China and overseas to the two museums. Some come for the national treasures of the Forbidden City, some for the contemporary art of M+, and some just want to sit by the Victoria Harbour, enjoy the sea breeze, and see this land of culture and tenderness. The West Kowloon Cultural District has always been committed to bringing more people closer to and experiencing culture. Chen Zhisi introduced that the Hong Kong Palace Museum has launched the "Palace Museum School" to provide artistic enlightenment for young people; For the elderly, the cultural district provides free guided tours to explain the stories of cultural relics and artworks in plain language; There are also various cultural experience activities, committed to enabling everyone to have unrestricted access to and enjoy culture. All of this resonates with the overall cultural development of Hong Kong. Every March, the globally renowned Art Basel Hong Kong exhibition takes place, with various art exhibitions, auctions, and cultural events blooming simultaneously, making Hong Kong a gathering place for art enthusiasts worldwide. Chen Zhisi said that nowadays, many internationally renowned cultural events have listed Hong Kong as a must visit place, and the development level of Hong Kong's cultural sector has gradually become comparable to that of finance. "In the future, the West Kowloon Cultural Zone will continue to deepen cooperation with international and mainland partners through various museums, performance venues and other platforms, so that Hong Kong's role as a center of cultural and artistic exchanges between China and foreign countries will be more consolidated, and this fertile land of culture rising from the mudflat will shine more brightly. ”Chen Zhisi said. (New Society)