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Last week, I visited the Hong Kong Palace Museum in the West Kowloon Cultural District to see the recently launched exhibition, The Forbidden City and the World. The rare and valuable works on display drew crowds of visitors, many of whom stopped to admire them. One piece that especially caught my attention was a Qing-dynasty hanging screen depicting a landscape. Set against a black lacquer ground, its mountains were embellished with kingfisher-feather inlay, while the pavilions, trees and rocks glow in blue-green hues against the darkness. The composition feels lively and intricate, with a striking sense of depth and layering. The superb craftsmanship of our country at the time – combined with the distinctive kingfisher feathers sourced from Southeast Asia – makes this cultural relic truly unforgettable.

With the strong support of relevant central ministries and authorities, the long-awaited offshore RMB China Government Bond Futures will be listed in Hong Kong tomorrow. The debut contract to be listed will be a five-year product, currently the only product of its kind in the offshore market. It will allow international investors to trade and settle the relevant contracts in the offshore market using their existing trading accounts, practices and procedures in Hong Kong.

We are now formulating the first five-year plan for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. At the same time, public consultation is under way for the Chief Executive's new Policy Address. Last week, a consultation session on the theme of sustainable and liveable city was attended by more than 80 representatives from the planning, environmental, social welfare, and think tank sectors, as well as professional bodies and organisations. They offered views from different perspectives and contributed ideas for the further development of Hong Kong as a liveable city. Participants expressed great enthusiasm for the development of the Northern Metropolis. They agreed that its beautiful natural ecology, sound spatial planning, convenient transport links and quality tertiary education would be organically combined with the incoming technology enterprises, talent and industries. This will facilitate the development of the Northern Metropolis into a hub ideal for living, working, studying and visiting, while serving as a new engine for Hong Kong's future economic growth.