Hong Kong's City of Life's November Recommendation : Kwai Tsing

A host of fascinating activities and tourism-related events are in store for visitors and residents during November as part of the City of Life: Hong Kong is it! campaign's "Recommendation of the Month - Kwai Tsing".

A launch ceremony was held by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) today (29 October) at the Piazza of Kwai Tsing Theatre, Kwai Fong.

Officiating at the launch ceremony were Kwai Tsing District Council Chairman, Mr Chow Yick-hay, BBS; District Officer (Kwai Tsing), Mr Allan Chow, JP; HKTB Acting Executive Director Mrs Grace Lee; Assistant Commissioner for Tourism, Mrs Winifred Chung; and Leisure and Cultural Services Department Senior Manager, Cultural Services (NT South), Ms Mandy Tong.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mrs Lee said Kwai Tsing was an exciting district filled with tourist attractions. It also has a number of landmarks that symbolise the achievements of Hong Kong, such as the Tsing Ma Bridge, the world's longest road-and-rail suspension bridge and the Kwai Chung Container Port, one of Asia's busiest container ports. In addition, there is a container freight station that gained recognition as a Guinness World Record in 1996 as the world's largest multi-level industrial building built as one concrete structure, and a neon advertising sign that gained similar recognition as the world's largest in 1999.

"Because of these four records, Kwai Tsing district enjoys international fame," Mrs Lee said. "Information about these outstanding achievements, which have gained Hong Kong international recognition are included in our publication Hong Kong Superlatives, which helps to promote them worldwide," she remarked.

Mrs Lee added that, in the Best of the Best Culinary Awards recently organised by the HKTB, Chiuchow Garden Restaurant at the Metroplaza in Kwai Tsing was one of the winners of the Gold with Distinction Award. This not only showcased the excellent cooking skills of the chefs but also highlighted the fact that Kwai Tsing is a district that combines unbeatable tourist attractions with gourmet dining.

Representatives from the Hong Kong Women's Beach Volleyball Team, who will be participating in the Asian Beach Volleyball Competition on 2 and 3 November in Kwai Tsing, attended today's ceremony and received a volleyball autographed by the officiating guests as a token of their best wishes. Local singer, Mr Bennett Pang was crowned by the Kwai Tsing District Council as "Kwai Tsing Tourism Star" to assist in promoting various events taking place next month.

Today's ceremony also featured dishu nan-yin singing, an operatic art form from southern China, performed by respected opera singer Dr Tong Kin Woon. Dr Tong will perform again on 8 and 17 November at Kwai Tsing Theatre. As part of the launch ceremony, guests were invited to join a tea appreciation session hosted by the International Chinese Tea Club as a prologue to the Hong Kong International Teaism Expo 2002 to be held from 11 to 17 November.

The award-winning Tsing Ma Bridge has been chosen as the main feature attraction for the month-long promotion. With a total length of 2.2 km, the Tsing Ma Bridge forms part of Lantau Island's "fixed crossing" linking the Kowloon peninsula to Lantau Island and Hong Kong International Airport.

Visitors can enjoy magnificent panoramic views of the Tsing Ma Bridge and the nearby Kap Shui Mun and Ting Kau Bridges at the Lantau Link View Point. The Lantau Link Visitors' Centre features photographs, models and details about the superlative engineering feats that created the three bridges. The Kwai Tsing District Council will provide a free shuttle-bus service from Metroplaza at Kwai Fong and Maritime Square at Tsing Yi to the Lantau Link View Point and Visitors' Centre on 2, 3, 10, 17 and 24 November. Seats are available on a first come, first served basis.

To tie in with the launch of the Kwai Tsing District Tourism Promotion Month and the annual Kwai Tsing District Arts Festival, a series of spectacular events will be organised by the Kwai Tsing District Council and other organisations within the district. Popular local artists will perform at the Opening Concert (2 and 3 November), while the Opening Carnival will also feature art displays, tourist information exhibitions and stage performances.

The Kwai Tsing District Council is presenting three major events during the Kwai Tsing Sports Festival. Top teams from Mainland China, Japan, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, The Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan and Macau will pit their skills against each other during the Asian Beach Volleyball Competition, organised by the Volleyball Association of Hong Kong. Some of the teams have just taken part in the Asian Games in Busan, South Korea. They include the gold and silver medal winners from Mainland China.

The sand action continues as the City Beach Football Competition, held for the first time in Hong Kong, brings together women's and men's teams from cities in Southern China, including Guangzhou, Foshan and Macau to compete with Hong Kong. The action then moves on to the track with the annual International Remote Control Touring Grand Prix featuring top international racers from Mainland China, Japan, France, the US, Germany, Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong.

To promote the art of Chinese tea appreciation, the International Chinese Tea Club and the Hong Kong Teaism Centre are organising the Hong Kong International Teaism Expo 2002 at the Maritime Square between 11 and 17 November. Activities include the Hong Kong and Macau Tea Competition, demonstrations of tea art from Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, talks and demonstrations on teaware making, seminars on Chinese tea culture, Chinese tea and calligraphy demonstrations and the sale of tea and teaware.

Visitors can enjoy a variety of dance, music, Cantonese operatic singing, martial arts performances and other cultural activities during the Kwai Tsing Theatre Open Day. The City Contemporary Dance Company, one of Hong Kong's leading artistic groups, will perform different styles of modern dance at the Auditorium and illustrate the venue's technical characteristics through dance, multimedia presentations and interactive games. 

The Open Day also features performances at an open-air dai-tat-dei cultural bazaar that was once a popular form of grass-roots entertainment during the 1950s and 1960s. The entertainment programme features Cantonese opera, nan-yin singing, Canto-pop oldies, acrobatics, kung fu, puppet shows, fortune telling and handicraft stalls. Against a backdrop of streets depicting the 1950s, actors in "Those were the Days Walking Comedy Show" will perform folklore stories and anecdotes from days gone by.

To highlight Hong Kong's living fusion of Eastern and Western cultures, a series of open-air concerts blending local with international music will take place on 8, 15, 22 and 29 November at the Piazza of Kwai Tsing Theatre under the theme of "Music Across Boundaries".

To provide visitors with photographic opportunities, a Welcome Arch has been erected by the HKTB at the Kwai Tsing Theatre. Festive decorations have also been erected in various locations around Kwai Tsing to create a district-wide festive atmosphere. Further information on other attractions in the Kwai Tsing District can be found in November's Attractions, published by the HKTB.

Since September 2001, each of Hong Kong's 18 districts has been taking its turn to promote its attractions as the "Recommendation of the Month", part of the City of Life: Hong Kong is it! campaign.

The campaign is organised by the HKTB in co-operation with the Hong Kong SAR Government's Home Affairs Department, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Tourism Commission, with the support of the 18 District Councils and with The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust as Principal Sponsor.