Hong Kong Cultural Center (Hong Kong Cultural Center or HKCC, 香港 文化 中евой) is a multi-purpose cultural complex located in the Hong Kong district of Chimsachey . Founded by the former City Council of British Hong Kong , after the transition of the former colony to the sovereignty of China, it was managed by the Hong Kong Department of Leisure and Culture . A large number of various cultural events are held here - concerts, theatrical productions, festivals and exhibitions [2] .
| Hong Kong Cultural Center | |
|---|---|
| Hong Kong Cultural Center, 香港 文化 中心 | |
 view from the side of Victoria Bay | |
| Based | |
| Theater building | |
| Location | China , Hong Kong |
| Address | Salisbury Road, 10, Chimsachey District, Yauchimvon County |
| Architect | Hong Kong Government Department of Architectural Services [1] |
| Building | 1984-1989 |
| Open | November 8, 1989 |
| Department | Hong Kong Department of Leisure and Culture |
| Site | Official site |
The construction of the Hong Kong Cultural Center began in 1984, officially the center opened on November 8, 1989.
Content
Geography
The Hong Kong Cultural Center is located on the southwestern tip of the Kowloon Peninsula , in the Chimsachey district, on the site of the former Kowloon Station - the terminal station of the Kowloon-Canton Railway . From the north, the cultural center is bounded by Salisbury Road, from the east there are the Hong Kong Space Museum and the Hong Kong Museum of Art , from the south the center is bounded by the promenade and the waters of Victoria Bay , and from the west by the Star Ferry ferry pier. Between the Hong Kong Cultural Center and the ferry pier there is a clock tower - all that has been preserved from the former Kowloon Station.
You can get to the Hong Kong Cultural Center on the Star Ferry ferry from Hong Kong Island and on Kowloon Motor Bus buses (the terminal bus station is adjacent to the ferry pier). Also within walking distance from the center are the stations of the Hong Kong Metro Chimsachey and East Chimsachey. The nearest large parking is located in the Harbor City complex [3] .
History
Already in 1970, the first public appeals to the City Council appeared, requiring the construction of a new cultural center in Kowloon [4] . In 1974, authorities officially announced the project of the cultural center and designated its location - the territory of the former Kowloon Station. As was then supposed, construction will begin in 1975 [5] . However, the project ran into financial difficulties and was postponed for a while. In 1978, the cultural center project was again reviewed by the Hong Kong City Council and received top priority from it. However, construction estimates rose from $ 190 million to $ 474 million and the project was again postponed for some time. When construction work finally began in 1984, the demolition of the historic building of the Kowloon Station caused lively debate and protest in Hong Kong society [6] .
On November 8, 1989, the official opening ceremony of the Hong Kong Cultural Center was held, at which Prince of Wales Charles and Princess Diana were present as guests of honor. In addition, a unique organ of the Austrian company Rieger Orgelbau, worth $ 10 million, was installed, the installation of 8 thousand pipes of which lasted from August 1989 [7] [8] [9] .
Center at night
Main staircase
Main staircase
Area at the entrance
During the mass protests of 2014, the area around the Hong Kong Cultural Center became one of the main gathering places for the democratic opposition and dissatisfied with the student regime [10] .
Structure
- The oval two-tiered concert hall seats over 2 thousand spectators. It is finished with high-quality oak, has excellent acoustics and the largest organ in Asia, installed behind an open stage. The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra performs here [11] [12] .
- The three-tier Bolshoi Theater seats over 1.7 thousand spectators. The Hong Kong Ballet [13] and the ensembles of the theater company [14] regularly perform here, various opera and ballet performances, as well as musicals and awards ceremonies of the Hong Kong Film Prize are held . The theater stage and the orchestra pit have modern equipment, including various mobile platforms, lifting mechanisms, an infrared synchronous translation system in five languages [15] .
- The universal and mobile theater studio with almost 500 seats hosts theater and dance performances of a smaller scale, as well as various performances [16] .
Also in the main building of the cultural center there is a large hall where the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra regularly performs [17] , three exhibition areas of a small scale [18] , 11 rehearsal and training halls, a children's center for choral singing and performing arts, a book and souvenir shop, and a cafe. The administrative building adjoins the cultural center in the east, where the exhibition gallery [19] , meeting rooms, seminars and conferences, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Society, the Philharmonic Society, various administrative and economic services of the cultural center and several restaurants [20] are based .
Around the center there are several open spaces (a square, a square with fountains in front of the clock tower, the main staircase in front of the administrative building, a promenade with a pier), which also regularly host various outdoor events - concerts, performances by orchestras and theater troupes, film screenings on the big screen [21] .
View from the sea
Clock tower
Promenade and pier
Promenade and pier
Notes
- ↑ Growing with Hong Kong: The University and Its Graduates: the First 90 Years. - Hong Kong University Press, 2002 .-- S. 154. - ISBN 962-209-613-1 .
- ↑ Kam Louie. Hong Kong Culture: Word and Image. - Hong Kong University Press, 2010 .-- S. 43-44. - ISBN 978-988-8028-41-2 .
- ↑ Location . Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
- ↑ Urbco to press for Kowloon Civic Center (4 pp.) // South China Morning Post. - October 27, 1970.
- ↑ PWD will design big Kowloon cultural center (1 page) // South China Morning Post. - March 8, 1974.
- ↑ Managing Hongkong's latest cultural center's a feat (4 pp.) // South China Morning Post. - December 31, 1987.
- ↑ HK icon celebrates 25th birthday . Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
- ↑ Andrew Stone, Piera Chen, Chung Wah Chow. Hong Kong & Macau. - Lonely Planet, 2010 .-- S. 99. - ISBN 9781741792256 .
- ↑ Leo Beranek. Concert Halls and Opera Houses: Music, Acoustics, and Architecture. - Springer Science & Business Media, 2003. - S. 201-204. - ISBN 0-387-95524-0 .
- ↑ Daniel Paul Garrett. Counter-hegemonic Resistance in China's Hong Kong: Visualizing Protest in the City. - Springer, 2014 .-- S. 122. - ISBN 978-981-287-235-7 .
- ↑ Concert Hall . Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
- ↑ Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra . Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
- ↑ Hong Kong Ballet . Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
- ↑ Zuni Icosahedron . Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
- ↑ Grand Theater . Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
- ↑ Studio Theater . Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
- ↑ Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra . Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
- ↑ Foyer Exhibition Areas . Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
- ↑ Exhibition Gallery . Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
- ↑ Rehearsal Rooms, Practice Rooms & Function Rooms . Leisure and Cultural Services Department.
- ↑ Piazza . Leisure and Cultural Services Department.