Details of the Shenzhen museum being built by Pony Ma Huateng, co-founder and CEO of internet giant Tencent Holdings, were unveiled on March 17 after months of speculation.
In a public letter, Pi Li, the former head of art at Hong Kong’s Tai Kwun, revealed that he is the founding director and first employee of Rong Museum, a cultural institution with around 4,500 square metres (48,400 sq ft) in total floor area that will open in 2027.
The name Rong refers to the Chinese character for “blending” or “convergence”, which Pi says reflects the museum’s intent to function as a platform for promoting inclusive coexistence and global interdependence.
Rong Museum is going to be one of four towers forming the M80 Campus, a mixed-use property development in Shenzhen’s Houhai district. The philosophy behind the “M” in the name is mutualism, message and memory, while the “80” echoes 1980, the year marking the beginning of the Shenzhen special economic zone, Pi explains in the letter.
