4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival opens today

The 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival opened today (October 19) at the Hong Kong Coliseum, kicking off over 260 events to be held in the “9+2” cities in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) from today until November 24. The Festival is presented by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), the People’s Government of Guangdong Province and the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region.

In a video speech addressing the opening ceremony, the Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, said that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival is an annual mega event for the arts and culture industry in the GBA. This year also marks the first time for Hong Kong to be the host city of the Festival, presenting audiences with the rich arts and cultural essence of GBA cities. He expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for its ongoing support to the arts and cultural exchanges and collaborations in the GBA, enriching the cultural soft power of the region. He is confident that this year’s Festival can further promote cultural integration and talent exchanges among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao and inject new creativity and vitality into arts and cultural development, while showcasing to the world the new landscape of a bay area for culture.

Mr Lee noted that with the support of the National 14th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong is dedicated to developing into an East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange, and has been steadfastly presenting rich and diverse arts and cultural mega events. Hong Kong will continue to leverage its unique advantages of enjoying strong national support while maintaining unparalleled connectivity with the world under the principle of “one country, two systems”, thereby driving its cultural exchanges and co-operation with the Mainland and overseas countries, promoting Chinese culture, and telling the good stories of China on the global stage.

The Deputy Director General of the Department of Culture and Tourism of Guangdong Province, Ms Zhao Hong, gave her video speech at the ceremony. Officiating guests at today’s opening ceremony included the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Cheuk Wing-hing; the Deputy Director Generalof the Department of Publicity, Cultural and Sports Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Li Shuguang; and the Vice President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau Macao Special Administrative Region, Mr Cheang Kai-Meng.

The opening programme of the 4th Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival, “Sound River”, featured a new work of the same name written by contemporary renowned Chinese composer and conductor Tan Dun. This concert is also one of the highlight events in celebrating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Under Tan’s baton, the concert tonight featured the newly formed Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Culture and Arts Festival Orchestra, comprising over 100 members from the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra, the Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, and the Macao Orchestra, to perform the world premiere of “Sound River”. Sixteen meticulously crafted short videos capturing the vanishing sounds, instruments and culture of the ancient cities along Tan’s journey from Europe, through the Arab world to Central Asia, then to the GBA in the past 12 years, were screened during the performance. Through interweaving light, shadow and music, audience members were able to explore the past and future of the “Silk Road of sound”. In addition, the concert featured the indigenous singer Wuyuntana and Mainland singer Zhou Shen, who delivered the concert’s theme song, bringing the concert to a final climax. The brilliant performance won warm applause from the audiences at the end of the performance.

The concert was broadcast live on various radio, television and online platforms, including RTHK Radio 4 (FM97.6-98.9), RTHK TV32, Phoenix Hong Kong Channel (Channel 85), the Festival website (www.gbacxlo.gov.hk), the RTHK website (www.rthk.hk), Ifeng (www.ifeng.com) and Feng Show APP, allowing audiences around the world to enjoy the evening live performance online and offline at the same time.

This year’s Festival, with the theme of “Integration in Diversity – Power and Possibilities”, aims to showcase the vibrant and diverse cultural richness of the region and foster cultural exchanges and co-operation among the GBA cities. For detailed information about the rich programme line-up of the Festival, please visit www.gbacxlo.gov.hk.

EMSD and Wan Chai District Office co-organise GBA innovation and technology study tour

Participants of an innovation and technology (I&T) study tour to the Greater Bay Area (GBA), organised under the Engineering Opportunities for Wan Chai – Youth Community Facilities Enhancement Programme, visited I&T facilities in Dongguan, Guangdong Province today (October 19) to explore the latest I&T development of the country.

Led by the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services, Mr Poon Kwok-ying, and the District Officer (Wan Chai), Ms Fanny Cheung, the tour group comprising around 40 students and teachers first visited the XbotPark to understand the latest technologies and applications of robotics and 3D printing, as well as the country’s initiatives to nurture innovative talents.

The tour group then proceeded to the China Spallation Neutron Source to learn about the operation of the first pulsed neutron source facility in the country. The facility, which is for exploring the microscopic structures of physical materials, is widely used in research fields such as physics, materials science and resource environment. The visit to popular science projects at the base enabled the students to gain insights into the country’s development in new energy and life sciences.

The tour was concluded with a visit to the Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory where members learnt about the development and daily applications of materials sciences as well as the process of transforming basic research into applied technology, so as to gain a better understanding of how to foster community development with innovative ideas.

Mr Poon said that the diversified visit programme enabled students to see for themselves the I&T developments in GBA, not only helping them to further understand the latest developments of the country, as well as Hong Kong’s opportunities and contribution, but also motivating students to explore the feasibility of applying relevant technologies to enhance the quality of life of local communities.

With a total of 170 participating students from 12 schools, the Engineering Opportunities for Wan Chai – Youth Community Facilities Enhancement Programme is jointly organised by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department and the Wan Chai District Office. It aims to enhance students’ understanding of electrical and mechanical safety, energy saving, decarbonisation and I&T through interesting and diversified learning activities, and to encourage their participation in community building and enhancing people’s daily lives with technology. In addition to the study tour, programme activities include STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) design thinking workshops, community visits, makerspace activities and practicums, inter-school learning outcomes sharing exhibitions, and community facilities enhancement design competitions.