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A spokesman for the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) said today (October 17) that about 600,000 admission tickets for "River of Wisdom - Animated Version of the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" will go on sale at 41 URBTIX outlets from Tuesday (October 19). Ticket sales through the Internet and telephone booking will start from Wednesday (October 20).
The "River of Wisdom - Animated Version of the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival" will bring to Hong Kong the spectacular exhibition shown at the China Pavilion of World Expo 2010 Shanghai China. The exhibition will be co-organised by the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination and the LCSD. The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust will be the exclusive sponsor of the exhibition.
The exhibition will be held at the AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong International Airport, from November 9 to 29. The spokesman for the LCSD said the exhibition was expected to receive an enthusiastic response, and advance booking of tickets would help regulate the flow of visitors. The spokesmen advised visitors to purchase tickets in advance and collect the tickets before going to the exhibition.
The exhibition will open from 10am to 9pm daily. The opening hours will be divided into 11 viewing sessions per day and each session will last for one hour. Admission to the exhibition is $10. Children under four years old will be admitted free. For enquiries on ticketing, please call the URBTIX hotline at 2734 9009.
To cater for students and social welfare organisations, the LCSD has arranged for 200,000 free tickets for group visits to be organised by schools and social welfare organisations. Group visits are confined to weekdays between Monday and Friday. Schools and welfare organisations may send their applications to the Hong Kong Science Museum. The Hong Kong Council of Social Service will assist in co-ordinating the application of their member organisations. As at October 15, about 570 applications requesting more than 90,000 free tickets had been received from schools and groups since application for free admission started last Tuesday (October 12).
The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust has generously supported the exhibition by offering full sponsorship for the special "River of Wisdom Exhibition - Jockey Club Transport Subsidy Scheme". Under this scheme, group visits organised by schools and social welfare organisations that have secured free group tickets can enjoy a subsidy in hiring coach services. Application forms for free admission and the "River of Wisdom Exhibition - Jockey Club Transport Subsidy Scheme" can now be downloaded from the website at hk.qingmingriverside.hk . All applications are on a first-come-first-served basis. For enquiries on group visits organised by schools and social welfare organisations, please call the Hong Kong Science Museum at 2732 3294.
"The Animated Version of the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival", produced with modern multimedia technology, projects the famous painting by Zhang Zeduan of the Northern Song dynasty on a giant screen more than 120 metres long and six metres high. All the features of the original painting including its streets, boats and buildings, as well as the original colours and artistic styles, are retained. This version of the painting shows its details with animation. During a four-minute cycle representing one day and night, the sky in this dynamic picture changes colour according to rise and fall of celestial bodies. With sound and lighting effects, the exhibition is a lifelike presentation, giving visitors a new experience and the illusion that they are in Bianjing, the capital of the Northern Song dynasty, 900 years ago. It can be considered as a masterpiece of fusion between innovative computer animation technology and Chinese culture.
Apart from the impressive giant animation, the exhibition will also feature computer animations to introduce the wisdom of ancient Chinese architecture, culture and transport, and panels and artifacts on the significance of the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival in Chinese art and culture, the story of the Song dynasty, such as its landscape, people's daily life, and achievements in science and technology, as well as the making of the animated version of the painting. There will be a series of public lectures during the exhibition period.
The LCSD has obtained support from the MTR Corporation and other transportation organisations to provide visitors with convenient, fast and economical transportation to the exhibition venue.
For more details about the exhibition, ticketing and transportation arrangements, please visit the website at hk.qingmingriverside.hk . For enquiries, please call 1823.
Ends/Sunday, October 17, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:34
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