Difficulty: Summiteer (Level 3)
Imagine staring at a three-metre-tall statue of an Egyptian pharaoh that has survived more than 3,300 years of desert heat and tomb robbers.
You can now see it in Hong Kong for the first time.
The contents of Tutankhamun’s tomb have travelled from Egypt to the Hong Kong Palace Museum. Spanning 5,000 years of history, “Ancient Egypt Unveiled” is the largest exhibition of Egyptian relics ever seen in the city.
The exhibition has 250 treasures. For example, you can see golden necklaces that showed a queen’s importance or cat mummies that reflect how much people loved their pets.
Many of these are being shown outside Egypt for the first time.
Allen Siu, 16, said he was excited to visit the museum with his parents. The teen has long been fascinated by Egyptian history.
“I love their legends and stories,” Allen said. “I have watched movies about pyramid adventures for a long time, and they are my favourite. I am so glad to finally see these valuable treasures.”
Why this exhibition matters
Late last year, there was a lot of excitement about the opening of the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Giza Pyramids in Egypt.
It is the largest archaeological museum in the world about one ancient culture.
Many items on display at the Palace Museum are similar in quality to those at the Grand Egyptian Museum.
The Hong Kong exhibition is the result of a collaboration with the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt.
“Through our collaboration with the Hong Kong Palace Museum, we celebrate the power of cultural heritage to unite people, inspire dialogue, and remind the world that history is a bridge – not a boundary,” said Yomna El-Bahar, the Egyptian deputy minister of tourism and antiquities.
Egypt’s legacy
The journey at the Palace Museum is divided into four sections.
The main section, “The World of Tutankhamun”, is about the “boy pharaoh” whose name was long erased from history.
The exhibition also explores the “Secrets of Saqqara”. Saqqara is known as the “City of the Dead”, a large holy cemetery for animals.
Visitors can see mummified cats and cows as well as other artefacts.
There is even an ancient toilet seat. It reminds us that even ancient civilisations had to take care of basic needs.
The exhibition also explores the Egyptian focus on the eternal afterlife through painted wooden coffins and amulets meant to give a safe journey to the next world.
The last part looks at how ancient Egypt shared ideas with other cultures, like ancient China.
This exhibition at Hong Kong Palace Museum ends on August 31, 2026. Special exhibition tickets cost HK$95 for students and HK$190 for adults.
