The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto) (Toronto ETO) will stage a roving exhibition entitled "Hong Kong: Asia's World City" in different cities across Canada from May to October. The roving exhibition will showcase Hong Kong’s achievements in areas such as economic development, innovation and technology, transport and infrastructure and arts and culture, as well as the beauty of its natural environment to members of the Canadian public.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the roving exhibition in the Greater Toronto Area being held at the Markham Civic Centre today (May 18, Toronto time), the Director of the Toronto ETO, Miss Kathy Chan, said the roving exhibition provides an opportunity for the Canadian public to learn more about Hong Kong, especially some little-known facts about Asia's world city.
She noted that Hong Kong is an international economic and trade hub, and is also one of the world's three most important financial centres together with London and New York. "Hong Kong has been able to achieve this thanks to its unparalleled business advantages, including a free and open economy, rule of law, a level playing field, a simple tax system, clean and efficient government as well as a vast pool of professional talent," she said.
But Hong Kong is not just an excellent place for doing business – Hong Kong has more to offer. "Though Hong Kong has as many as 7.39 million people, the population is highly concentrated. Of the some 1 100 square kilometres of land, about three quarters of land is occupied by green countryside and about 40 per cent has been designated as country parks or special areas for conservation of our rich bio-diversity," Miss Chan said. There are also many hiking trails in the country parks, which are just a stone’s throw away from urban areas. "Among Hong Kong's great variety of landscapes, outstanding examples include the Hong Kong Geopark, where amazing rock formations formed hundreds of millions of years ago render it a member of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Global Geoparks Network, as well as the Mai Po Inner Deep Bay area, which is among Asia's most important habitats for migratory water birds in winter," she added.
Apart from its beautiful nature, Hong Kong is also a vibrant arts and cultural hub. "More than 8 600 performances are held in Hong Kong every year, featuring the creative works of local arts bodies as well as visiting art troupes, attracting audiences in the millions," Miss Chan said. To advance the city as an international cosmopolitan of arts and culture, Hong Kong is pushing ahead with the development of the West Kowloon Cultural District, which will include a number of museums and world-class performing arts venues. Of them, the Xiqu Centre, which is dedicated to the promotion of Cantonese opera and other forms of traditional Chinese theatre, will be commissioned later this year.
Miss Chan invited guests at the opening ceremony to find out more about Hong Kong's latest developments by visiting the exhibition.
Today's opening ceremony was also attended by Senator of the Parliament of Canada Mr Victor Oh; Member of the Parliament of Canada Ms Mary Ng; the Mayor of the City of Markham, Mr Frank Scarpitti, and councillors from Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill.
Before the opening ceremony came to a close, the guests were treated to a Chinese instrumental performance by erhu master Linlin Wang, who is a graduate of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, together with two Canadian masters of the guzheng and yangqin.
The roving exhibition will run from May to October in various cities across Canada. The tentative dates and venues are listed below:
May 18 to 24 Markham Civic Centre
June 14 to 19 Vancouver Public Library
June 18 to 24 Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library of the University of Toronto
Late July/Early Aug Aberdeen Centre in Richmond
August 20 to 26 Cadillac Fairview Mall in Toronto
August 27 to 31 Toronto City Hall
September 11 to 17 Vaughan City Hall
Early October McMaster University in Hamilton
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