Hong Kong Gripped by Ancient Egypt Fever as Palace Museum Exhibition Breaks Records

Hong Kong has fallen under the spell of the pharaohs. Since the grand opening of “Treasures of Ancient Egypt: Masterpieces from the Egyptian Museum” at the Hong Kong Palace Museum on 20 November 2025, more than 16,000 visitors have poured through its doors in just four days, turning the West Kowloon waterfront into a sea of eager culture-seekers.

The first weekend proved nothing short of chaotic in the best possible way. On both Saturday and Sunday, long queues stretched far beyond the museum entrance, with waiting times regularly stretching past an hour. Inside, every gallery was packed to capacity; visitors shuffled forward in slow, reverent waves, craning for glimpses of golden treasures and millennia-old statues. The enthusiasm caught even the organisers by surprise.

To cope with the overwhelming turnout, the museum took swift action. Afternoon ticket sales were temporarily suspended on Sunday until 3:30 pm, disappointed latecomers were offered refunds (though the refund queue itself became another attraction), and closing time was extended to 8 pm on both weekend evenings to allow more people to experience the wonders within.

In a statement released Sunday night, the Hong Kong Palace Museum expressed deep gratitude for the public’s passion while candidly acknowledging the strain on crowd management. Staff are now working around the clock to refine visitor flow, determined to make the coming weeks smoother for everyone.

What has drawn such extraordinary numbers? Quite simply, this is the largest and most ambitious Ancient Egypt exhibition Hong Kong has ever hosted. Co-presented with Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, the show brings together 250 masterpieces from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo — every single one appearing in Hong Kong for the first time, and many travelling outside Egypt for the very first time in history.

Among the breath-taking displays are towering statues of pharaohs and gods, intricate gold jewellery that once adorned royal bodies, complete painted sarcophagus sets still vivid with colour after thousands of years, and rare animal mummies that offer a haunting glimpse into ancient beliefs about the afterlife.

Even the gift shop has become part of the phenomenon. The limited-edition “Pharaoh Cat” plush toys — inspired by the famous feline statues of the goddess Bastet — vanished within hours of opening. The museum has since set up a reservation system so disappointed fans can register interest and be notified the moment fresh stock arrives.

As the city recovers from its first taste of Egyptomania, one thing is clear: Hong Kong’s appetite for world-class culture remains insatiable. With the exhibition running for several more months, there is still ample opportunity to join the pilgrimage — though those hoping for a quieter visit might want to aim for a weekday morning and book tickets well in advance.

For now, the Hong Kong Palace Museum stands as the hottest destination in town, proof that three-thousand-year-old treasures can still cast a powerful spell over a modern metropolis.