Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage – Exhibition on Traditional Craftsmanship of Lantern Making

Date: 9-14 February 2017 (Thursday to Tuesday)
Time: 6-11 pm
Venue: Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza

 

Lanterns are a major festive decoration in traditional Chinese culture. Every year on the Spring Lantern Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, lanterns are used extensively – there is a line in a Chinese poem saying that lanterns in the festive market light up the night like daytime. The craftsmanship of lantern making is an intangible cultural heritage of Hong Kong, which is artistically and historically significant.

 

To celebrate the Chinese New Year of 2017, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office (ICHO) has designed a merry-go-round lantern installation inspired by "screen wall", a structure in the traditional Chinese architecture. ICHO has invited local paper craft master Mr Chan Yiu-wah to handcraft 3 sizeable merry-go-round lanterns of which the design is based on traditional palace lanterns, but are powered by electric machines on their central axes. This combination of traditional craftsmanship and advanced technology displayed within the wooden frame conveys New Year wishes to the public. The installation is also set up so that the public can appreciate the traditional paper crafting techniques in lanterns, and the importance of preserving intangible cultural heritage can be promoted.