Hong Kong Dragon flying high in Adelaide (with photos)

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, Sydney (HKETO), has again participated in one of Australia's leading international arts festivals, the OzAsia Festival, which is being held in the city of Adelaide, Australia.
      
     The HKETO supported the event organiser, the Adelaide Festival Centre, in bringing a giant 40-metre-long Hong Kong Dragon to the Moon Lantern Parade at Adelaide's Elder Park on October 27 (Adelaide time). Through this fabulous illuminated dragon, the HKETO aimed to showcase the vibrancy of Hong Kong as an international cultural metropolis grounded in Chinese traditions to the Australian audience.
      
     Speaking at a reception before the Moon Lantern Parade, the Director of the HKETO, Mr Raymond Fan, said the HKETO's continued support for the OzAsia Festival demonstrates Hong Kong’s ongoing commitment to strengthening the cultural ties between the two places, in tandem with their long-standing trade, investment, education and people-to-people links.
      
     "The HKETO has been supporting OzAsia Festival since 2009. The event this year again provided a good opportunity to showcase our culture to the Australian audience, such as this amazing parade as well as other programmes with a Hong Kong presence," he said.  
      
     The Hong Kong Government actively supports the development of culture and arts, and various cultural projects will be successively completed over the next few years. The West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) will provide a vibrant cultural quarter and is one of the largest cultural projects in the world. The Xiqu Centre and Freespace in the WKCD will be commissioned in January next year and second quarter next year respectively. The WKCD will also boast two world-class museums.
      
     Other interesting Hong Kong experiences brought to the festival hub by HKETO included a Hong Kong Dragon Bar with Hong Kong branding, an interactive photo site featuring Hong Kong's skyline and a dragon boat image, and face painting activities with Hong Kong characteristics.
      
     The OzAsia Festival, presented by Adelaide Festival Centre, is Australia's leading international arts festival engaging with Asia. Event programmes this year include contemporary dance, theatre, music, visual art, film, literature, workshops, talks and more from across Asia. The festival is expected to attract 190 000 people.
      
     Details of the programmes are available from www.ozasiafestival.com.au.