Programme inspires Hong Kong and Beijing youth to reimagine cities' cultural hubs

South China Morning Post

3 days ago

Hong Kong's West Kowloon Cultural District hosts grand museums, performance venues and open spaces – but 18-year-old Emma Yao Yimo has found there is more work to be done in attracting visitors.
As part of the annual Bi-city Youth Cultural Leadership Programme, Yao interviewed locals about their perception of West Kowloon.
'Some said they wouldn't visit West Kowloon because they didn't feel 'cultured enough'. That's something we should overcome – culture shouldn't feel exclusive or require a lot of prior education to enjoy,' said Yao, an architecture student at the University of Hong Kong.
Over the past two months, Yao and 15 other university students from Hong Kong and Beijing joined an eight-week programme – launched by the Hong Kong Palace Museum with support from Beijing's Palace Museum – to cultivate future cultural leaders and strengthen ties between the two cities.
The exchange also took students to Beijing and Shanghai, where they explored how landmarks like the Palace Museum engage younger audiences through storytelling, creative merchandising and digital technologies. Participants also interned at cultural institutions such as the Hong Kong Palace Museum and M+.
Louis Ng, director of the Hong Kong Palace Museum, described the programme as a key initiative for cultural exchange and arts education since its launch in 2022.
'It is dedicated to providing a platform for young people in Beijing and Hong Kong to connect and share ideas, promoting Chinese culture on a global stage and exploring its international impact,' he said.
For Yao, the experience gave her fresh insights into how cultural hubs like West Kowloon can better connect with younger audiences.
'It's about staying relevant to youth, developing further and not getting stuck in the past. From what I've seen, Hong Kong is heading in the right direction,' she said.
M+ and the Hong Kong Palace Museum are part of the West Kowloon Cultural District. Photo: Eugene Lee
A visit during the programme to Nantou Ancient Town in Shenzhen showed Yao an example of how to integrate heritage, retail and community life.
'They brought the whole community together – from shops to food and beverage – to create a vibrant atmosphere,' she said.
'It's something West Kowloon is still working hard to achieve.'
Yao believes better policies for community vendors could help bring more visitors to the cultural hub.
'For example, the government has too many restrictions on food trucks and similar operations, which limit customer numbers. Adjusting these policies could attract more locals and tourists,' the student said.
She added that another way forward could be to boost its visibility online.
'You need to stay on top of the conversation – for example, on social media,' she explained. 'West Kowloon and M+ aren't the most prominent online, so there's room to step into young people's daily lives.'
The highlight of the programme for Yao was exploring how cultural expression has evolved in today's world.
'We barely touched on this in school, so I'm glad the programme gave me a deeper understanding of how culture works now, and how people are trying to develop and present it,' she said.
While Yao said she found this industry to be interesting, she was still 'on the fence' about whether to make this her career path.
'It's already challenging to come up with new ideas – I imagine it's even harder for those actually working here to push them forward,' she said.
Emma Yao Yimo (left) and Wu Xiaoya say this experience has given them insight into how cities develop culture. Photo: Handout
For Wu Xiaoya, an economics and finance student at Tsinghua University in Beijing, the programme was a step toward her goal of launching culture-related entrepreneurship projects.
'This programme showed me how vital it is for culture to interact with its surrounding community,' said the 21-year-old, whose first visit to Hong Kong was through this initiative.
Wu pointed to a community project by One Bite Design Studio, which invited elderly residents to take part in its activities, and noted that West Kowloon could benefit from similar community engagement.
From her perspective, Hong Kong's cultural sector 'has not fully realised its potential'.
'It is not profitable yet, but many opportunities are waiting to be explored by young people,' Wu said.
In the four weeks she spent interning at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Wu noticed room for improvement in its merchandise.
'Most of their products, like postcards or booklets, are very generic,' she said. 'In the mainland, there are many creative designs that capture your interest. Hong Kong museums aren't doing enough of that.'
She also encouraged the industry to be more daring: 'The cultural sector should be a place for brave ideas – you shouldn't be afraid to make mistakes or launch bold projects.'