Hong Kong artists shine with Cantonese songs at Mid-Autumn Festival concert over the border
- Hong Kong celebrities take to stage with others from mainland China, Taiwan and Macau to celebrate annual festival
- Three-hour performance, with plenty of Cantonese content, is live-streamed on national platforms and shown in Hong Kong by public broadcaster
A who’s who of Hong Kong showbiz talent joined top artists from mainland China, Taiwan and Macau to stage a concert in Shenzhen on Tuesday that featured many beloved Cantonese songs.
While the bay area along the southern Chinese coast has a rich history of Cantonese culture, the concert marked a rare instance of the dominant language of Hong Kong being featured in a high-profile entertainment event staged over the border, where Mandarin is mainly spoken.
Among the Hong Kong celebrities taking part were Alan Tam Wing-lun, Jackie Chan, George Lam Chi-cheung, Faye Wong, William Chan Wai-ting and Gloria Tang Tsz-kei – better known as G.E.M. – with most of the performers choosing Cantonese songs.
The annual Mid-Autumn Festival is rooted in a fairy tale about the lunar deity Chang’e and Hong Kong actor and singer Nicholas Tse Ting-fung, who was among the hosts, seized upon the theme to praise the nation’s string of successes in space flight in recent years.