Tickets for Hong Kong’s first Chinese Culture Festival, to be staged from June through September, will go on sale on Friday, with discounts offered to early birds until May 3, the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region announced on Thursday.
About 2,000 artists and their production teams will bring plays, performances, movies, exhibitions, and seminars featuring Chinese culture to the city in the three-month period, which is expected to draw over 100,000 spectators, the government said.
The award-wining dance drama Five Stars Rise in the East – the story of a Han dynasty general stationed on the country’s western border, presented by the Beijing Dance Drama and Opera, will open the festival on Jun 7 and 8, at the Sha Tin Town Hall Auditorium
At a news conference on Thursday, the government said tickets for most performances at the festival will go on sale from Friday, at the ticket office of the Xiqu Centre in West Kowloon Cultural District, and on the government-run URBTIX website.
Tickets for stage performances will have early-bird offers until May 3. Those who purchase more than four tickets for the same event can enjoy a discount of up to 30 percent, while people who buy tickets for more than three events at a time can also enjoy a discount of up to 30 percent.
Bulk buyers can get preferential treatment after May 4, but the discounts will be reduced.
The award-wining dance drama Five Stars Rise in the East – the story of a Han dynasty general stationed on the country’s western border, presented by the Beijing Dance Drama and Opera, will open the festival on Jun 7 and 8, at the Sha Tin Town Hall Auditorium.
Some arts groups gave brief demonstrations of their shows at a program parade on Thursday, including the opening drama and a drumming performance by local group Refiner Drums.
Addressing the preview parade, Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, the city’s secretary for culture, sports and tourism, said that Hong Kong is a place where East meets West and has a wide international network.
The festival will be the first major branding project since the establishment of the Chinese Culture Promotion Office, with a view to promoting cultural exchanges and showcasing the unique charm of Chinese culture to art and culture lovers and tourists all over the world, Yeung said.
To be held annually, the festival will designate a focus city every year to showcase the city’s unique cultural attractions and to promote its exchanges with Hong Kong.
Yeung said Shanghai was chosen as the focus city this year, and the authority has arranged programs and exhibitions from Shanghai Jingju Theatre Company, Shanghai Chinese Orchestra and the Shanghai Museum.
Yeung said he hopes that the string of performances and events will deepen the public’s appreciation of Chinese culture and cultivate residents’ national identity and cultural confidence.
A series of activities, offering free admission, will be held at the same time as the festival, including the “Encountering Chinese Culture” carnival in Sha Tin. The New Territories Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival will form part of the festival.
Selected plays from this year’s Chinese Opera Festival, an annual event established in 2010, will also take place during the festival, the government said.
