Hong Kong gets spotlight in NYC

Trade office opens exhibit in midtown Manhattan

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York unveiled its latest effort to promote Hong Kong tourism in a new exhibit at the Time Warner Center in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday.

The exhibition, Spotlight Hong Kong, showcases the arts and culture of the special administrative region, focusing on the juxtaposition of East-meets-West.

"Because of its strategic location in south China, it has evolved into an important entrepot for Chinese and world trade," said Steve Barclay, director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York (HKETONY), during the opening ceremony.

"Simultaneously, it has become a crossroads of Western and Chinese culture and heritages," he said. "Hong Kong people have a curious receptiveness to anything modern and Western while remaining rooted to their Chinese origin. This results in a unique, cosmopolitan and dynamic society."

The exhibition will be open to the public from Feb 25 to March 3, a lead-up to the Hong Kong Dance Company's performance of The Legend of Mulan at Lincoln Center on March 5.

Spotlight Hong Kong explores several themes of the city: its cultural heritage, its long-standing film history, the emergence of Hong Kong fashion designers and the street art of American artist Michael Sloan.

"Hong Kong is gearing up to become the regional arts and cultural hub," Barclay said.

"We are building an integrated arts and cultural district - West Kowloon - stretching across 100 acres of prime waterfront land in the heart of urban Hong Kong, making this one of the largest cultural precincts in the world."

Barclay told China Daily that the Time Warner Center was a particularly good spot for the exhibit due to its high foot traffic from tourists and New Yorkers alike, and with the upcoming attention on Hong Kong from the Legend of Mulan performance, it was a good time for a push to promote tourism.

"We exist here to promote awareness of Hong Kong, and we're always looking for opportunities to get a little bit of attention and publicity," he said. "It's pretty tough in a city like New York, there's a thousand things going on everywhere and you have to try to produce something a little bit different to get some attention from the public."

"The biggest goal is to get more people to understand that Hong Kong remains a vibrant, thriving, prosperous, culturally-energetic society that's a great place to live, to work, to do business," Barclay added.

The exhibit was paid for by HKETONY, and the office will be supporting and helping organize the Hong Kong Dance Company's US debut of The Legend of Mulan, based on the popular heroine of ancient China who disguised herself as a man to join the army in her father's stead.

The dance troupe will perform four shows at the David H. Koch Theater between March 5 to March 8.

amyhe@chinadailyusa.com