Renowned archaeologist and art history lecturer Pia Pierre’s exploration of the remote reaches of the Silk Road, starting in the early 1980s, inspired the creation of Hong Merchant. Housed in a historical 1920s-era French Concession villa, the gallery displays carefully selected and authenticated collector-quality antique Chinese furniture and decorative pieces, alongside China-inspired contemporary art. The idea behind Hong Merchant's artist-in-residence programme is to encourage Chinese and foreign artists to create canvases and conceptual art that fully reflect their experiences in today’s China. The inspired co-mingling of contemporary artwork and antiques throughout the villa shows by example how these mediums can gracefully co-exist.