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Admissions to the Hong Kong Pavilion yesterday (July 31) topped the one million mark as the Expo 2010 Shanghai China (Shanghai Expo) reached its halfway stage.
Since the opening of Shanghai Expo on May 1, the Hong Kong Pavilion, themed "Hong Kong - Potential Unlimited", has received an average of more than 10,000 visitors a day.
Hong Kong's Urban Best Practices Area (UBPA) Exhibition, under the theme "Smart Card · Smart City · Smart Life", is also a popular attraction welcoming an average of more than 8,000 Expo visitors a day.
The Commissioner of the HKSAR Expo Affairs Office, Mr Patrick Chan, said, "We are very pleased that our two exhibitions continue to be popular attractions for Expo visitors. Our number one task is to continue to maintain a high level of service to our visitors. We want every visitor to be well looked after and enjoy a memorable experience.
"Our opinion surveys continue to show that visitors are impressed by the services provided by staff at both exhibitions.
"Special souvenirs given to each visitor at both exhibitions have all been well received."
To echo the "One Country, Two Systems" theme for July, Hong Kong organised a wide variety of events and activities for Shanghai Expo.
These included a thematic exhibition at the atrium of the Hong Kong Pavilion titled "One Country, Two Systems", which ran from June 23 to July 15.
On July 1, Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Henry Tang, officiated at a ceremony at the Hong Kong Pavilion to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
A new exhibition, "Stories Behind Banknotes", was launched at the Pavilion on July 16 and will run till August 15.
Hong Kong also hosted two high-level forums in Shanghai in July. The "Hong Kong Legal Services Forum: Global Vision" on July 6 attracted more than 500 legal practitioners, business people and officials.
More than 400 prominent financial services experts and professionals from Hong Kong, Shanghai, elsewhere in the Mainland, as well as overseas attended the HKSAR Finance Forum "Stronger Links, Stronger Markets: Hong Kong, the Mainland and the World" on July 21.
To promote Hong Kong's diverse performing arts culture, a number of performances were successfully staged in Shanghai in July.
The final part of Edward Lam's urban trilogy, "Grand Expectations", produced by Edward Lam Dance Theatre, was a great success playing to full-house audiences on four consecutive nights.
A large-scale art exhibition, "Legacy and Creations - Ink Art vs Ink Art", was launched on July 16 and will run until August 9 at the Shanghai Art Museum. The exhibition showcases the development of the new ink art movement in Hong Kong and the city's contemporary ink painting and calligraphy.
In August, Hong Kong will continue to stage a variety of events and activities in Shanghai under the theme "Cultural City".
A new thematic exhibition, "Passion for Hong Kong: Exhibition of Works by Professor Jao Tsung-i", will open at the Hong Kong Pavilion on August 16 and will run until September 30.
A photo exhibition, "Hong Kong · City", will also be held by the Hong Kong Institute of Professional Photographers at the Shanghai Times Square from August 13 to 29.
Two exchange tours to Shanghai will be organised by the Commission on Youth and the Education Bureau this month to enhance national education through exchange activities on the Mainland.
Hong Kong Arts Festival and the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong will stage "Hong Kong Cantonese Opera Treasures" on August 19 and 20.
"The Legend of Zhang Baozai" by Musica Viva and The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Alumni Association will be staged on August 20 and 21 as part of the HKSAR's programmes for Shanghai Expo in August.
The Expo runs until October 31. For more details on Hong Kong's participation in Shanghai Expo, please visit www.hkexpo2010.gov.hk .
Ends/Sunday, August 1, 2010
Issued at HKT 11:00
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