Encountering Chinese Culture

EVENT DESCRIPTION

The inaugural Chinese Culture Festival (CCF), organised by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), will hold the “Encountering Chinese Culture” carnival on the afternoon of June 9 (Sunday). Through an array of outdoor and indoor activities rich in Chinese culture characteristics, including stage performances, cultural booths, story-telling sessions, a Chinese music performance, an exhibition and a talk, members of the public will be able to experience the colourful Chinese culture and arts up close. Various activities will be held at the Plaza, Foyer, Exhibition Gallery and Lecture Room of Sha Tin Town Hall and the Entrance Arena at L1, Phase 1 of New Town Plaza. Members of the public are invited to join for free.

The carnival will kick off with a dragon and lion dance performance at 2pm at the Plaza of Sha Tin Town Hall, followed by a number of dance, drumming and magic performances by outstanding local and Mainland art groups. Performers from the Beijing Dance Drama and Opera will perform excerpts “Lantern Dance” and “Embroidery” from dance drama “Five Stars Rising in the East”, which was the opening programme of this year’s CCF, to present the audience with dance pieces infused with the flavour of the Western regions and Chinese classical styles. Audience members can also preview highlighted excerpts from some of the festival’s programmes, including the “Fun Ride with Big Beard – Dancing Poems 2.0” by Hong Kong Dance Company Children’s and Youth Troupes, the “New Dance Rhythms with Chinese Quintessence” and the “Chinese Magical Arts’ Wonder” performances that are collaborated with the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Hong Kong Member Association, as well as classic Shanxi Jiangzhou drum music presented by local arts group Refiner Drums.

The carnival will feature eight cultural booths and workshops covering a wide range of intangible cultural heritage items of traditional craftsmanship, including blown sugar technique, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese paper-cutting, guangcai (the Canton famille rose porcelain) making, Hong Kong cheongsam making and Cantonese opera headdress crafting. Members of the public can experience the joy of Chinese culture and arts by watching the demonstrations and joining the workshops. As the Dragon Boat Festival is approaching, the carnival will set up booths for paper folding of dragon boats and rice dumplings, as well as festive fragrant sachets making. Families are welcome to join to experience the Chinese festive atmosphere.

To promote reading and traditional Chinese culture, the Hong Kong Public Libraries will arrange a Library-on-Wheels for the carnival with story ambassadors delivering classic stories related to Chinese culture to children. Books related to the theme of Chinese culture will also be displayed and available for the public to borrow on-site.