Advertisement

The buzz

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0

It's not easy to praise the glories of thousands of years of Chinese culture when your byline reveals in stark black and white that you are a gweilo. The risk is that you'll come across as a wide-eyed newbie or as a desperate expat trying a bit too hard to fit in to a foreign culture.

Advertisement

However, it would be remiss not to highlight the many cultural activities taking place over the coming weeks, including the festivities surrounding National Day on October 1 and next week's Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrating the magnificence and complexity of Chinese culture, one of the world's oldest.

Many are to be found in the arts world, particularly the Yellow River Concerto being staged at the Cultural Centre from September 24-25 as part of National Day celebrations. The Shanghai-born Lu Jia will conduct noted Guangdong pianist Chen Jie and the local Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of the famed Chinese symphonic work along with works by other mainland composers including Chen Xiaoyong and Hua Yanjun.

But before that, on Saturday at Chai Wan's Y-Theatre and on Sunday at the Tsuen Wan Town Hall, the Windpipe Chinese Ensemble will perform works such as the theme to Once Upon a Time in China; and on Monday, in a show of their versatility, the famed Shanghai Quartet of violinists will present the works of composers such as Brahms and Beethoven at City Hall in Central.

Although he wasn't Chinese and wreaked havoc across the land in the 13th century, Genghis Khan is now viewed as a national hero in some quarters. On Friday and Saturday, the life of the Mongolian is being celebrated at the Cultural Centre in 'Genghis Khan: A Choral Symphony', presented by the Inner Mongolia National Song and Dance Troupe and Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra.

Advertisement

After the Great Wall, the Forbidden City is arguably the most famous symbol of China, and an exhibition at ArtisTree in Taikoo Place provides a glimpse of what life was like in the world's largest complex of wooden palaces. 'We All Live in the Forbidden City', running from today to the middle of next month, explains, through installations, animations and interactive games, how the palaces were built and how nature maintained a foothold inside the complex.

Advertisement