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Uncover Maritime Silk Road’s treasures: Why this new museum is Macau’s latest must-see attraction
Poly MGM Museum celebrates seafaring heritage with an inaugural exhibition that brings together rare artefacts, underwater discoveries and contemporary artworks
On display at the Maritime Silk Road exhibition are the Bronze Zodiac Heads of Ox, Tiger, Monkey and Pig from Beijing’s Old Summer Palace.
PHOTO: POLY MGM MUSEUM
Originally from Beijing’s Old Summer Palace, four of the iconic 12-piece Bronze Zodiac Heads have reunited in Macau. These 18th-century masterpieces had once adorned a water clock fountain before Anglo-French forces plundered them in 1860.
Now, as grade-one relics – China’s highest historical designation – they sit among 228 extraordinary artefacts at the city’s newest cultural landmark, the Poly MGM Museum.
Its inaugural exhibition brings together such ancient Chinese treasures and contemporary artworks, offering visitors a fresh perspective on the historic maritime trade hub.
These Bronze Zodiac Heads showcase exceptional 18th-century craftsmanship, combining sophisticated design with masterful metalwork.
“The Maritime Silk Road – Discover the Mystical Seas and Encounter the Treasures of the Ancient Trade Route”, which runs from now till September 2025, takes Macau’s historic status as a key city along that ancient network of sea trade routes to explore ideas of globalisation, economic development and cross-cultural pollination.
The exhibition’s modern elements are just as impressive, featuring stunning installations that play with light, colour and depth. Many of these works come from internationally renowned artists specially invited to participate in this exhibition.
Cutting-edge technology is also employed to breathtaking effect, in the form of movable LED screens, flexible display panels, directional audio systems and Oled display cabins that allow visitors to interact with the artefacts.
Creative technologies, such as the Oled display cabins pictured above, transform ancient treasures into interactive experiences at the Poly MGM Museum.
Take, for example, a Yuan Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain vase adorned with a phoenix flying through flowers. While it appears to sit in a traditional display case, visitors soon discover they can manipulate a digital version of the masterpiece on the case’s Oled screen, rotating and zooming in to examine its intricate details.
The result is an exhibition that showcases rich history and exquisite craftsmanship through a deeply immersive experience.
Entry to both the museum and exhibition is free for all.
Tracing a route through time and space
To help visitors navigate and understand the vast collection, the exhibition is divided into four thematic zones – Monsoon, Cultural Origin, Integration and Connections – that create a narrative to bring guests from past to present, before finally positioning them on the cusp of a thrilling future.
The first zone, Monsoon, explores how humans learned to harness the power of the seas in a practical way for trade and exploration.
Cultural Origin utilises underwater discoveries (like shipwrecks, salvaged artefacts and the ruins of ancient ports) to bring the fascinating history of this maritime route to life.
This rare metre-tall Tang Dynasty figurine showcases the period’s signature tricolour glazing technique and masterful attention to lifelike detail.
Integration shows us how the Maritime Silk Road led to trade, immigration and cultural mixing between East and West through the exchange of goods, people and ideas.
Lastly, Connections is a lens into the future, enabling us to look at present-day maritime issues and possibilities yet to materialise, through contemporary art and photography.
This Aeneas and Anchises tapestry was commissioned in the early 17th century.
Among the highlights across the zones is the Aeneas and Anchises tapestry.
Woven in 1620, the piece, located at Integration, depicts a scene from the Trojan War and is an embodiment of how artistic traditions from both East and West can blend beautifully.
Visitors can explore the intricate artistry of this Qing Dynasty Guangcai plate through an interactive screen that details its step-by-step creation and offers translations of the Farsi inscriptions.
Another example of cross-cultural fusion is the Guangcai plate with Farsi characters and floral designs.
This piece is one of many Guangzhou porcelain items that were custom-made for sale to the Middle East in the 19th century, hence the inscriptions and design motifs.
Celebrated Chinese artist Wu Gaozhong’s monumental drifting bottle display at Macau’s Poly MGM Museum holds messages from around the world.
Admiring the Drifting Bottle – 100 Years at Connections is a good way to wrap up the visit. A modern riff on the idea of a message in a bottle, this artwork contains letters written by people from all over the world.
Instead of being launched on the waves of a physical ocean, this bottle is being “sent” through time, 100 years to be precise, as a capsule to be unlocked in 2123.
Establishing Macau’s new cultural landmark
The Poly MGM Museum’s contemporary design sets the stage for its innovative exhibitions.
The new Poly MGM Museum adds a dynamic dimension to Macau’s cultural landscape, already renowned for its unique Portuguese-Chinese heritage, vibrant culinary scene and world-class luxury resorts.
Nestled on the second floor of MGM Macau and constructed in accordance with Chinese national standards for exhibiting grade-one cultural relics, the nearly 2,000-sqm museum opened in November 2024. Its ambitious vision is to position the city as an international arts hub while serving as a vital cultural bridge between China and the global community.
As such, the general ethos of the museum is to showcase dichotomies: between East and West, technology and culture, virtuality and reality, antiquity and modernity, heritage and innovation, as well as digitalisation and craftsmanship.
Ms Pansy Ho, chairperson and executive director of MGM China Holdings, sums it up best: “The museum carries a shared vision of ‘innovation in inheritance’ focusing on the in-depth integration of cultural content and technology, creating a brand-new platform for cultural innovation.”
Daily tours are available in Cantonese and Mandarin. English tours can be arranged with pre-booking. Reserve a time slot for your free visit through the Poly MGM Museum website.
