Chinese Culture Festival Concludes with 4,000 Artists and 900,000 Participants Celebrating Cultural Heritage in Hong Kong.

2024-11-29 14:30 Last Updated At：17:18

Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees

The four-month-long inaugural Chinese Culture Festival (CCF) concluded after bringing together over 4 000 artists from more than 150 outstanding local and Mainland art groups and associations from different provinces and cities to stage over 250 performances and activities in Hong Kong, covering music, dance, Chinese opera and multimedia, film screenings, exhibitions, talks, a carnival and other related extension activities. More than 900 000 participants joined the Festival online and offline.

Click to Gallery

Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

More Images

Inaugural Chinese Culture Festival concludes with over 900 000 attendees Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

The CCF, presented by the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau and organised by the Chinese Culture Promotion Office under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), aims to promote Chinese culture and enhance the public's national identity and cultural confidence. The opening programme, dance drama "Five Stars Rising in the East", started with full houses for two performances, followed by the "Encountering Chinese Culture" carnival held at Sha Tin Town Hall and New Town Plaza, which attracted over 10 000 participants. The Carnival not only extended the charm of Chinese performing arts from the theatre to the community but also allowed members of the public to experience a number of intangible cultural heritage items and workshops with festive characteristics to appreciate the richness of Chinese culture.

In addition, more than 20 free performances of "Chinese Culture for All: A Special Performance Series", covering music, dance and opera performances with Chinese characteristics, open rehearsals and film screenings, were organised during the Festival. These performances attracted over 7 000 students and teachers as well as members of the community, allowing them to experience the profound heritage of Chinese culture and boost their cultural confidence.

The LCSD's signature project, the Chinese Opera Festival (COF), has become a core part of the CCF from this year, widening the audience base and providing diverse forms of extension activities. In addition to talks, meet-the-artists sessions, masterclasses, exhibitions and film shows, the North Road Bangzi and Shandong Liuzi opera plays, both of which are Intangible Cultural Heritage regional opera genres, as well as film screenings of Shao opera adapted from the classical tale "Journey to the West", are newly featured this year. To engage more young audiences, this year's COF introduced a new guided appreciation activity called "Chinese Opera En Route to Campus". In collaboration with the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, an outreach team was formed to visit 10 primary, secondary and special schools to introduce different Chinese opera genres, including Peking opera, Kunqu and Cantonese opera, through demonstrations and interactions with students, offering them chances to explore Chinese culture. A demonstration performance of a Peking opera excerpt was held at the Foyer of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, which received an enthusiastic response from citizens and visitors.

The CCF also serves as an important platform to showcase the achievements of artists in the creative transformation and development of traditional Chinese culture in the way of preserving precious traditional values while keeping abreast of the times. For example, the dance drama "Five Stars Rising in the East" interpreted the profound cultural connotation of a cultural relic as well as the scenes of 1 000 years of exchanges and integration of Chinese culture by using innovative dance languages; "Cyrano de Bergerac" - A Cantonese Opera Interpretation was an adaptation of a French classic piece of the same title, demonstrating the eclecticism of Cantonese opera, most notably in the hybrid mix of East and West; "Loong Legacies: Arts, Design & IP Product Exhibition and Talks" showcased the reinterpretation of cultural connotations of "Loong" through various forms of artworks.

Many CCF programmes also demonstrated the spirit of cultural inheritance. "Legacy and Vision: Conversations with Chinese Cultural Masters", co-organised with the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Hong Kong Member Association, featured acclaimed masters in the art industry to speak on their respective areas of expertise in culture and arts; "The Concert of Drum Music Art Ensemble of Jiangzhou, Shanxi and their Hong Kong Inheritors" invited local young performers who had travelled to Jiangzhou of Shanxi to learn the drum music to join the performance. During the COF, a number of masterclasses on Kunqu opera were organised for interested parties, and performers of the Zhejiang Wu Opera Research Centre visited the Cantonese Opera Academy of Hong Kong for exchanges with young students.

This year, Shanghai was designated as the "City-in-Focus" of the inaugural CCF. The LCSD invited the Shanghai Jingju Theatre Company and the Shanghai Chinese Orchestra to come to Hong Kong with strong line-ups to present their outstanding productions. The Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Shanghai Museum co-organised an exhibition on the Chinese art of scent. An exchange display of intangible cultural heritage of traditional craftsmanship and handicraft arts from Jiading District of Shanghai was held at the Foyer of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre to showcase the unique charm of Shanghainese culture and promote exchanges between Hong Kong and Shanghai.

The grand finale of the stage programme, dance drama "Mulan", was a new interpretation of the well-known story of taking one's father's place in the army. The two performances were met with enthusiastic applause from full houses. In conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnivals 2024, the inaugural CCF concluded joyfully in a spirit of reunion.

A review video highlighting the fabulous programmes under the inaugural CCF, as well as online replays of selected exhibitions, talks and masterclasses, are now available on the CCF website. Interested parties can visit www.ccf.gov.hk/.

During the Festival period, participants' views were collected through questionnaires. Over 90 per cent of the participants gave satisfactory or above ratings to the CCF programmes. When asked about whether the CCF had enhanced their understanding of and interest in Chinese culture, over 85 per cent of the respondents indicated that it had. The LCSD expresses gratitude to the local cultural industry, institutions and community organisations as well as the Mainland cultural organisations, including the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Hong Kong Member Association, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, the Hong Kong Dance Company, the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, the Center for China Shanghai International Arts Festival, the Shanghai Museum, the China Performing Arts Agency Productions Limited, and more, for their unwavering support in organising and promoting the inaugural CCF, and looks forward to continued support and participation from stakeholders across different industries and members of the public in the second edition of the CCF. The Festival will continue to leverage Hong Kong's unique advantages of enjoying strong national support while maintaining unparalleled connectivity with the world under the principle of "one country, two systems", thereby showcasing fine traditional Chinese culture in Hong Kong as an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchanges, and fulfilling the mission of going global and bringing in diverse arts and cultures. It will also strive to promote Chinese culture and patriotism education while enhancing national identity among Hong Kong people through diverse arts and cultural forms.

TPB Accepts Zoning Changes for HKU's Global Innovation Centre in Pok Fu Lam Amid Community Concerns

2024-11-29 17:08 Last Updated At：17:18

Town Planning Board decides to amend zoning of Global Innovation Centre site in Pok Fu Lam to "Undetermined"

The Town Planning Board (TPB) completed today (November 29) the deliberation on the representations in respect of the draft Pok Fu Lam Outline Zoning Plan (OZP) No. S/H10/22. After thorough discussion, the TPB decided to accept the Planning Department (PlanD)'s recommendation to partially meet some of the representations by amending the zoning of the 4.72-hectare site designated for the proposed Global Innovation Centre (the Centre) by the University of Hong Kong (HKU) in Pok Fu Lam (the Site) from "Other Specified Uses" annotated "Global Innovation Centre" ("OU(Global Innovation Centre)") to "Undetermined" ("U") in the interim, in order to allow the HKU to review and adjust its proposal in response to the views expressed by the representers and to consult relevant stakeholders including the local community before submitting its revised proposal for the Government's consideration.

During deliberation, the TPB thoroughly considered the 3 677 representations and the oral submissions made by about 80 representers and/or their representatives during the three-day hearing in early November, as well as the views and responses of the PlanD and relevant government bureaux/departments (B/Ds) before arriving at its decision.

TPB members acknowledged that most representers supported the development of the Centre by the HKU to consolidate Hong Kong's leading position in deep technology research, while their objections/concerns were mainly related to site selection and hence land use compatibility, development intensity, impacts on traffic, visual, landscape, ecological, environmental, geotechnical, public health and safety aspects, as well as the lack of proper consultation. TPB members also noted that the HKU had committed in its press statement in early October and at the hearing to consulting relevant stakeholders in strategically reviewing and amending its development plan to address their opinions as much as practicable. The HKU would also explore the possibility of identifying alternative sites for the development of the Centre.

To address representers' concerns, TPB members made the following comments and suggestions for the HKU's consideration in reviewing its proposal and taking forward the project:

consider alternative locations in Pok Fu Lam and other places such as the Northern Metropolis.If the HKUconcludes after review that the Centre should be in Pok Fu Lam, the HKU should consider whether the present site or another area, includingbut not limited tothe adjoining undeveloped "Residential (Group C) 6"site, is more suitable forachieving the HKU's objective while minimising impacts on neighbouring communities;

critically review the necessity and floorspace requirements for various components of the Centre, including accommodation and conferencing facilities, and consider optimising the utilisation of the HKU's existing premises/facilities to meet such needs;

enhance the design, including reducing density and bulk, lowering building height and increasing setback from neighbouring buildings;

address traffic concerns and minimise environmental impacts and nuisance on the neighbouring community and residential developments during both construction and operation phases;

minimise tree felling and disturbance to natural habitats, enhance tree compensation and provide more green space;

incorporate additional planning and design merits and facilities thatmight benefit the local community; and

strengthen efforts to engage and consult with stakeholders including the local community.

In particular, in case the HKU decides after review that the Centre should remain in Pok Fu Lam, TPB members considered that the HKU should fully address the impacts of the Centre on students with hearing impairments in Ebenezer. Traffic is another area requiring more efforts from the HKU - not only should the traffic impact of the Centre be properly assessed and improvement measures formulated, but the HKU should also consider advancing the impact study of construction traffic so that the results can be discussed with the local community and refined as appropriate. Last but not least, TPB members emphasised the need for constructive engagement with stakeholders and looked forward to the HKU stepping up communication with them, as it has pledged on various occasions.

In view of the above, the TPB considered it inappropriate to revert the zoning of the Site to "Green Belt", maintain the "OU(Global Innovation Centre)" zoning, or propose other specific zoning before the HKU's submission of a revised proposal. Thus, it was prudent to rezone the Site to "U" in the interim, serving as a stopgap arrangement pending the HKU's completion of the review. Members also noted that there would be adequate planning controls under the "U" zoning, as anyone taking forward development in the "U" zone would require the TPB's approval.

The TPB will exhibit, under section 6C of the Town Planning Ordinance, the proposed amendment of rezoning the Site to "U" on December 13 for public inspection for three weeks, during which any person might make a further representation to the TPB on the proposed amendment. The TPB will consider the further representations, if any, in accordance with the Ordinance before submitting the draft OZP to the Chief Executive in Council for approval within the statutory time limit.

Upon the HKU's completion of the review and engagement with the community on the revised proposal, it will need to submit a revised proposal supported by technical assessments for consideration by relevant B/Ds. Should the revised proposal be accepted by the Government, the PlanD will propose appropriate zoning amendment(s). Subject to the TPB's agreement, the rezoning would then undergo another round of statutory planning procedures in accordance with the Ordinance, during which members of the public would have the opportunity to submit written representations and attend hearings to express their views to the TPB directly.

Chinese Culture Festival Concludes with 4,000 Artists and 900,000 Participants Celebrating Cultural Heritage in Hong Kong.

HK