The Asia-Pacific Reference Frame (APREF) project is a joint initiative between the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and the Regional Committee of United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management for Asia and the Pacific (UN-GGIM-AP) which has the primary aim to create and maintain an accurate geodetic framework to meet the growing needs of industries, science programs and the public using positioning applications in the Asia-Pacific region. The APREF is realized by over 1,000 GNSS Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) and provides their weekly coordinate and long-term velocity solutions to improve access to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF), currently ITRF2020. The APREF supports a broad range of applications including realization and monitoring of national geodetic reference systems and monitoring of crustal dynamics in the region. This contribution summarizes what we have learnt from the APREF project over 15 years, recent progress and achievements, and future direction of the project.