HKETO, Brussels welcomes Year of Dragon with cultural activities and receptions (with photos)

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Brussels (HKETO, Brussels) is supporting the eighth edition of the "Legends of Lion Dance" held in Antwerp, the port city of Belgium, from February 8 to 11 (Antwerp time). It offers Belgian and Chinese in Antwerp a Hong Kong film night, an exhibition showcasing Hong Kong arts and culture; and a carnival with a Hong Kong booth, food market and Chinese cultural shows, among other cultural talks and workshops during the period.

     Highlight of this 4-day event is a lively lion dance parade which delighted hundreds of local spectators as it made its way to Antwerp’s China Town to celebrate the start of the Chinese New Year today (February 10, Antwerp time), also the very first day of the Year of the Dragon. 

     The Special Representative for Hong Kong Economic and Trade Affairs to the European Union, Ms Shirley Yung, spoke to the crowds and wished all the guests have the energy and prosperity like a dragon in the year ahead. She said that Hong Kong is full of opportunities which makes the city a prime destination for businesses and talents. "We have rolled out talent attraction schemes to facilitate global talents to settle in, live, work and start up in Hong Kong. A dedicated office has also been set up to attract strategic enterprises by offering special facilitation measures such as land grant, financing and tax concessions", she added as she encouraged the visitors to come to Hong Kong.

     After the speech, Ms Yung officiated at the lion eye-dotting ceremony and visited the exhibition displaying lion heads handcrafted in Hong Kong. The exhibition also features drawings by a Hong Kong comics artist, Pen So, curated by the Hong Kong Arts Centre (Comix Home Base) (www.hkac.org.hk) in the theme Wanderers' Land – Cityscapes in Hong Kong.

     "Legends of Lion Dance" is organised by Asian Events, a non-profit-making organisation established by Hong Kong second-generation community members in Antwerp, with the support of the HKETO, Brussels and the Belgium-Hong Kong Society. The event has become a firmly-established event on Antwerp's annual cultural calendar, which help promote the uniqueness of Hong Kong as an international arts and cultural centre.

     The HKETO, Brussels also organised two Chinese New Year receptions earlier this week, respectively in Milan, Italy (February 6) jointly with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and in Luxembourg (February 8) with the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and the China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, to celebrate the coming of the Year of the Dragon.

     In Milan, the HKETO, Brussels took the opportunity to showcase Hong Kong's East-meet-West culture and promote music talent by inviting a Hong Kong born Jazz vocalist and composer, Heidi Li to stage a performance in a quartet with Italian musicians, indulging the guests with Chinese-Italian fusion songs.