Green Joy Fills Mid-Autumn: Hong Kong Victoria’s “one2free Lantern Wonderland”

▲The main lantern of Hong Kong’s Mid-Autumn Festival this year, “Joy-Filled Mid-Autumn,” is made from 7,000 plastic bottles. (Photo / fromthe one2free Lantern Wonderland Facebook page)

Tourism Centre / Comprehensive Report

This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong is different. The Hong Kong Tourism Board has infused this year’s celebration with a “green” element. Sponsored by local mobile service provider one2free, the “one2free Lantern Wonderland” will be held from September 14 to 22 at the No. 6 Pitch of Victoria Park, featuring large-scale eco-friendly, vibrant, and creative lantern displays to celebrate the festival.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board has long been actively promoting traditional festivals and local culture. The Mid-Autumn Festival has always been a popular event among visitors. This year, one2free is specially invited as the sponsor, with designs created by four young architects. With the festival’s central figure—the moon—as the theme, the display uses 7,000 discarded plastic bottles to introduce an eco-friendly green element. A giant half-moon lantern, 10 meters high and approximately 20 meters in diameter, is presented on the pond within the wonderland.

Named “Joy-Filled Mid-Autumn,” the half-moon lantern stands about three stories tall. Both its surface and interior are made from old plastic bottles and connected with energy-efficient LED lights. At night, it towers over the pond, using the LED lights and reflections in the water to create a magnificent visual effect of the full and waning moon. The used plastic bottles will later be recycled by a local social welfare organization—the “Yan Oi Tong Environmental Park Plastic Resource Recycling Centre”—to be repurposed into other useful plastic materials, putting the concept of “regeneration” into practice.

▲The Dragon Dance, listed as a national and intangible cultural heritage, is a unique highlight of Hong Kong. (Photo / fromWikipedia)

In addition, the wonderland will also feature a “Wishing Gallery” and a “Mid-Autumn Market,” inviting local vendors to set up stalls selling specialty crafts and food. On the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival (September 19), the Dragon Dance, recognized as a national and intangible cultural heritage, will also be performed in Victoria Park. It is hoped that through these lively festive activities, visitors will be encouraged to come in person to participate and experience the vibrant holiday atmosphere across Hong Kong.
 

Hong Kong Victoria Park “one2free Lantern Wonderland”

Date: September 14 to 22, 2013
Time: September 14     20:00 to 23:00
            September 15 to 22, 18:30 to 23:00 (extended to midnight on September 19, Mid-Autumn Festival)
Venue: No. 6 Football Pitch, Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Island
Admission: Free

For more event details, please contactthe Hong Kong Tourism Board