Children in panda costumes play table tennis with the giant panda in a three-dimensional painting at New Town Plaza, Sha Tin. Courtesy of Wasabi Creation Ltd

Apart from watching the Olympic Games at home or crowded shopping malls, Hong Kong people are indulging in the Olympic mania wherever they go.

Sha Tin, where one of the equestrian sites is located, is at the heart of the craze. At the New Town Plaza, families and young couples queue up outside the "Sports in TOWN - Illusion Art Exhibition", which showcases interactive art pieces on Olympic events.

Three-dimensional artworks allow visitors to become a part of the exhibits by posing and taking pictures from the right angles. While children can play table tennis with a giant panda, the athletic ones can jump on a windsurfing board for a glorious sail.

"We waited for 30 minutes to get the tickets and another 15 minutes to go inside," said Alan Tsui, who visited the exhibition with his 3-year-old son. "It's nice to be in the Olympic picture. The Beijing Olympics is a special event for us, especially when Hong Kong is hosting the equestrian competitions."

A man poses as a windsurfer at the 'Sports in TOWN - Illusion Art Exhibition' at New Town Plaza, Sha Tin. Courtesy of Wasabi Creation Ltd

There is more to discover about the Olympics at the venue, where there is a photo exhibition of the Bird's Nest stadium by He Kangmin, the official photographer of the Olympic Games. Stunning images of the stadium are on display, alongside snapshots of its construction workers and local citizens.

The small photo gallery was packed with enthusiastic viewers, who took pictures of He's works or posed next to the images for their own snapshots. The exhibition also details the history of the construction, He's accounts of his challenges and memorable moments in shooting the stadium, and anecdotes of local residents' participation.

"I've seen pictures of the stadium before, but these works show the human elements in the construction, the feelings of the people and the workers," said Wang, a retired businessman. "I think it allows us to grasp a better understanding of the Olympics and the efforts our fellow Chinese are making in Beijing."

The Olympics spirit is also burning on the Hong Kong Island.

At Times Square, shoppers looked at sculptures by mainland sculptor Sui Jianguo.

The "New Disco-bolus" series are specially presented to celebrate the Olympics, along with other signature works by Sui.

Alicia Chan, a graphic designer, was delighted to see the artworks by the world-renowned artist on display at one of the territory's most frequented spots. She believed it successfully boosts the Olympic ambience among Hong Kong people.

"My 9-year-old daughter spent some time gazing at the sculptures and asked me questions. We even looked up the meaning of 'disco-bolus' online," said Helena Man, a human resources professional. "It's good to think about the Olympics from a thoughtful perspective, beyond the usual publicity and buzz."

The public embrace of the Olympics can come with a sense of fun, as it permeates in our daily life.

At Hong Kong MTR station, commuters slow down along the escalator and turn to admire a display where life-size cardboard swimmers are ready to jump into the water.

Some smile for a picture standing next to the display, while some mimic the swimmers and put on a serious expression on their faces for their friends and families to take the shots.

Cheung Kwok-fan, a restaurant owner in Central, belongs to the latter.

"I walk past it a couple times a day," Cheung noted. "There's publicity around town for every Olympics, but it was never as overwhelming as this. It'd be funny to look at these pictures in the future."

A teenage boy takes a close look at the 'New Disco-lobus' sculptures by Sui Jianguo outside Times Square. Nicole Wong

The Olympic hype can be felt in the Kowloon peninsula as well.

Outside the Hong Kong Cultural Centre at the waterfront, local residents and tourists flock to the Olympic Piazza to see its Olympic-themed decorations, such as medal-winning Fuwa lantern displays and life-size horse models.

"The waterfront has got a colorful facelift," said Lam Che-kin, a secondary school teacher. "With our fellow mainland tourists posing and cheering over the decorations, the festivity is running really high. Anyone can feel it as they visit the waterfront."

The piazza is also equipped with a range of facilities, including Olympic information kiosks, exhibitions and e-books about the equestrian events.

"The information should be useful for children to learn about the Games, if they take a good look," Lam added.

Apart from large-scaled events organized by the government and corporations, the community has many other creative expressions of its embrace of the Games.

Kwok, a 70-year-old retired cleaner, makes Fuwa figurines with colored clay and sells them on the streets in Causeway Bay.

"The sales are not bad," Kwok noted. "Some children walk past my stall and want to poke at the Fuwa, because clay figurines of the mascots are rare in the market. Their parents are usually unwilling to buy the figurines, but they'll concede if the children insist."

Mandy Chung, a 7-year-old girl who bought all five Fuwa figurines, is extremely excited about the Olympics. Chung and her classmates have been rehearsing for an Olympic parade and making Olympic-themed artworks. Chung also won a drawing competition about Olympic sports at school.

"I'll put the Fuwa figurines on the top of my computer monitor, so they'll keep me company as I study," Chung said.

(HK Edition 08/12/2008 page4)