After five years, a meticulously crafted and grand building has risen in the West Kowloon Cultural District of Hong Kong, becoming a new landmark for cultural exchange between the East and the West in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Palace Museum connects the past and the present, linking Hong Kong with the Mainland and the world. After its opening, “Jilin-1,” a satellite 500 kilometers above Earth, delivered a gift to Hong Kong by capturing the five-year construction history of the Hong Kong Palace Museum from space. Employees from the satellite manufacturing company explained that from the moment the design plan was released, “Jilin-1” began to focus on this land, documenting the process from the groundbreaking to the completion, witnessing the spring, summer, autumn, and winter of the construction. “The Hong Kong Palace Museum made ‘Jilin-1’ in space feel a connection to the earth below,” they said.
“From the data sent back by the satellite, we can see that the Hong Kong Palace Museum has the characteristics of ‘wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, with a hollow top and solid base,’ giving it a strong sense of history,” said Jia Bowen, the marketing and operations manager at Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd.
Applying Remote Sensing Technology to Bridge Hong Kong and the Mainland
Jia Bowen introduced that since the design plan was released in December 2017, “Jilin-1” satellite began focusing on this area, stating, “The Hong Kong Palace Museum, covering about 13,000 square meters, made ‘Jilin-1’ in space feel a special connection to this land.”
She recalled, “The first official image of the Hong Kong Palace Museum taken by ‘Jilin-1’ satellite was on November 21, 2018. At that time, the museum had not yet taken shape. Since then, every year, we have photographed the museum, and the database has preserved the spring, summer, autumn, and winter during the construction of the Hong Kong Palace Museum.”
According to the satellite data, in April 2019, the main structure of the project officially started, and in November 2020, the main structure was completed. By February 5, 2021, when the image of the Hong Kong Palace Museum was taken, the main structure of the building had been completed.
The “Jilin-1” satellite constellation is capable of revisiting any location on Earth 18-20 times a day. It can update the global map once a year and the national map six times a year. Jia Bowen said, “The construction of the Hong Kong Palace Museum has touched the hearts of many people. The application of satellite remote sensing technology can bring Hong Kong closer to the Mainland, and even to the world. Despite the thousands of kilometers between Jilin and Hong Kong, we can instantly ‘cross’ the distance and witness this milestone in cultural cooperation.”
Using Five Satellites, with a Resolution of 0.5 Meters
The history of the Hong Kong Palace Museum’s construction is also the growth history of “Jilin-1.” From 2018 to 2022, the photos sent back clearly show the museum becoming more and more magnificent, with higher clarity. Technicians explained that the imaging mode of the Hong Kong Palace Museum mainly used push-broom imaging, where the satellite scans the ground at a speed of approximately 7 km/s and processes the images into static pictures.
Over the past five years, the images of the Hong Kong Palace Museum have been captured by five satellites: “Jilin-1” Optical A, Gaofen-02A, Gaofen-02B, Wideband-01B, and Wideband-01C. These satellites are all optical remote sensing satellites of the “Jilin-1” constellation and can capture images of any location on Earth from space, 500 kilometers above. Among them, the Wideband-01B/01C satellites have the largest coverage and a resolution of 0.5 meters. The images transmitted by these satellites clearly show the museum and surrounding landmarks, as well as nearby Victoria Harbour, with visible ships and ripples created by the boats.
Hong Kong’s Nightscape: A Beautiful and Bustling Global Landmark
Using remote sensing data from “Jilin-1,” Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd. has applied artificial intelligence algorithms to obtain high-resolution push-broom images. “Jilin-1” satellites have a deep connection with Hong Kong, not only focusing on the Hong Kong Palace Museum but also frequently capturing images of Victoria Harbour, the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, and the Aushin Chau Bridge, always keeping an eye on Hong Kong from space.
Pan Longyang, a public relations officer at Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd., showed the reporter satellite images of Victoria Harbour and its night scene taken by the “Jilin-1” video-03 satellite. In these images, buildings on the ground, ships in the harbor, and vehicles on the roads are all clearly visible. “The night lights of a region reflect its economic level to some extent. The night view of Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong, like other international metropolises, is beautiful and bustling,” he said.
A Century-Old Project: The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Like a Dragon Emerging from the Sea
“If I ever have the chance, I must visit Hong Kong and also visit the Hong Kong Palace Museum to experience the new feeling of switching perspectives from space to the ground,” Jia Bowen said. “I was very surprised when I saw the satellite images of the Hong Kong Palace Museum in the material library. Over the past five years, I have had the honor of witnessing the grand building rising in the West Kowloon Cultural District, and this complete record from 2018 to 2022 has given me a deep connection with the Hong Kong Palace Museum.”
Jia Bowen added that many images sent back from Hong Kong are very impressive, with the most memorable being the “Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.” “It is so beautiful!” she exclaimed. “When viewed from space, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is not only shocking but also artistically beautiful. It looks like a winding dragon crossing the water, blending with the blue sea. It is a masterpiece in the history of bridge construction.”
Jilin-1 Satellite
“Jilin-1” is China’s first domestically developed and largest commercial remote sensing satellite constellation. It was first launched on October 7, 2015, and currently, there are 54 satellites in orbit, capable of conducting high-frequency monitoring of the Earth. The “Jilin-1” constellation mainly consists of three types of satellites: optical main satellites, video satellites, and experimental satellites. For example, the newly launched “Jilin-1 High-Resolution 02D” satellite on September 27, 2021, has a visible light resolution of up to 0.5 meters, allowing it to clearly capture vehicles on the ground and ships on the sea. Moreover, its ground view is very large, with a visible area of over 40 kilometers in diameter at an altitude of 650 kilometers, providing a “thousand-mile vision.”
Three Key Features of Jilin-1
Dynamic and Static Imaging Capabilities
“One satellite, multiple functions”: it can capture static images as well as dynamic videos; it can capture images of both the ground and the sky, and it can operate day and night. It has the ability to capture high-definition dynamic videos from satellites and can quickly obtain high-resolution images globally using a network of small satellites.
Global Coverage
As of February 2022, the “Jilin-1” satellite constellation covers 99.98% of the global land area, providing precise services in 14 fields, including agriculture, forestry, water conservancy, environmental protection, transportation, natural resources, and urban construction.
Immediate Access
By 2025, “Jilin-1” is expected to have a network of 138 satellites in orbit, providing the ability to revisit any location on Earth within 10 minutes. The satellite construction is divided into two phases: the first phase involves 60 satellites, and the second phase will expand to 138 satellites, enabling a revisit capability within 10 minutes at any location globally.
