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Carnival-goers enjoyed the Mid-Autumn lantern carnival presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) tonight (September 30) at Victoria Park. The event showcased a series of entertaining programmes and lantern installations to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Among the attractions were folk song, dance, instrumental and acrobatic performances given by the Hunan Arts Troupe. There were demonstrations of Chinese folk craft such as Hunan's palm weaving, "nuo" masks, Tantou New Year woodprints and Xiangxi Miao painting, as well as Guangdong's clay sculpture and red clay pots.
Filled with festive joy, the "Entertainment Village" comprising lantern installations of ancient festive markets, a spectacular seven-metre colourful lantern and entertaining Chinese traditional puppetry such as shadow puppetry, string puppetry, rod puppetry and hand puppetry attracted visitors.
A fire dragon dancing parade, joined by around 300 performers along a 67-metre-long dragon studded with thousands of burning joss sticks, was a prime attraction while lantern installations and a lantern quiz were equally delightful.
Presented by the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, a traditional mega-size lantern, hand-made by two local masters, in the shape of a lotus dragon soaring and dancing in the air was visually attractive. The dragon's head is styled after the rolling dragon of Haifeng and Lufeng in southern China, and the body is made up of more than 30 lotus lanterns. Other lantern installations at Victoria Park included the "Lantern Wonderland" and "Lantern Corridor" organised by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. The lantern installations are open to the public until October 2.
There is also a thematic lantern exhibition, "Terracotta Warriors of the Qin Dynasty", being held at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza from now until October 21. Inspired by the Qin terracotta army, the display showcases the spectacle of the terracotta warriors of the Qin dynasty.
An exhibition featuring the winning designs and all entries of the 2012 Mid-Autumn Lantern Design Competition is being held at the Exhibition Hall, 1/F, Low Block, Hong Kong City Hall, until October 6.
People are urged not to litter or burn wax while celebrating the festival.
Ends/Sunday, September 30, 2012
Issued at HKT 22:00
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