Art and culture
Hong Kong Art and culture
Think of Hong Kong and what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Chances are that most would think of Bruce Lee and kung fu martial arts. While these elements are what made Hong Kong famous in the eyes of the world, it must be said that Hong Kong’s art and cultural scene offers so much more than that.
There is a myriad of festivals and celebrations in Hong Kong, and if one were to visit Hong Kong just to enjoy them all, he or she would find it difficult to leave the charming harbor city! Such is the appeal of this unique and diversified country. Not-to-be-missed celebrations include the Lunar New Year celebrations, the Mid Autumn festival as well as the Bun and Buddha festivals.
Lunar New Year, which occurs early each calendar year, is a grand and massive affair in Hong Kong. Fireworks and loud light-and-sound displays are commonplace. During this time of the year, children look forward to receiving red packets, or “ang pows” from their elders. These red packets contain various amount of token money and are usually given to symbolize luck and prosperity. The Mid Autumn Festival, or fondly known as Mooncake Festival, is celebrated to mark the triumph against the Mongols. Chinese rebels hid revolution details secretly inside cakes and that was how they got the message across undetected. Nowadays, the Mid Autumn Festival in Causeway Bay is one of the most vibrant ones and feature a spectacular fire dragon dance.
The Dragon Boat Festival also tops the list of not-to-be-missed affairs in Hong Kong if you want to delve deeper into their diverse art and culture. This festival celebrates one of the most prominent historical figures, Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in the Mi Lo River over two millenniums ago as an act of protest against corrupt leaders. The townspeople beat drums and threw small dumplings to entice the fishes as a desperate act to retrieve and preserve his body, so loved was this hero. Today, Dragon Boat races are held to commemorate Qu Yuan. The races feature artistically carved dragon boats measuring more than ten meters with a maximum crew of 22 paddlers.
Hong Kong’s pop culture is a most interesting subject to explore. This country gave birth to Cantopop with its four “Heavenly Kings”, each artist commanding his own fan base. Hong Kong is also deemed the land of TV dramas especially those shown on the TVB network. Likened to the American version of soap operas, these series are quickly losing out to Korean drama series instead, much to the chagrin of its legion of fans. Hong Kong is also known for its contribution to the Asian art and comic scene. Through “man hwa” which are considered Hong Kong based comic books, the world is indirectly introduced to Hong Kong’s unique art styles. This art style is now being thoroughly explored and young comic artists are now diversifying the art genres and redirecting them away from mainstream kungfu comics.