Art lovers are in for a treat as a garden art exhibition opens at the Hong Kong Museum of Art (HKMoA) on Friday, featuring more than 100 sets of Chinese and Western garden artwork, including French Impressionist master Claude Monet's original works.

"Blooming: The Art of Gardens in East and West" is the first show in Hong Kong featuring artworks from four institutions at the same time -- the Palace Museum in Beijing, the Art Institute of Chicago in the United States, the Palace of Versailles in France and HKMoA.

It features works from renowned artists such as Monet, Zhang Daqian, Wen Zhengming and Ju Lian.

Some of the highlights include Monet's "Water Lillies" and "Water Lily Pond", as well as Zhang's "Entrance of Bade Garden".

The exhibition also features an digital interactive education corner, where visitors can interact with a virtual wine cup to see different flowers blooming.

Hong Kong is the last stop of the exhibition which was also held in Beijing, Suzhou and Ningbo.

Twiggy Au, a curator at HKMoA, said 70 percent of the 106 pieces of artwork are on display exclusively in Hong Kong.

"The exhibition is free admission because we hope to enable audience of all ages, genders, and backgrounds to appreciate garden aesthetics," Au said.

With an expected surge in visitors during the upcoming Labour Day Golden Week, Au said special crowd-control measures may be implemented and museumgoers are advised to follow updates on HKMoA's website and social media.

The show will run through July 29.


Edited by Edmond Fong