Hong Kong Entertainment
Hong Kong Cinema
With over 40 cinemas offering Hong Kong entertainment you can always find a cinema in most areas. These cinemas range from small 2-screen operations to multi-screen dynamos. Busy areas like Tsim Sha Tsui and Causeway Bay have several cinemas to choose from. Most shows are either in English or Cantonese. English language films are usually subtitled in Chinese and some are dubbed into Cantonese, or infrequently, into Mandarin.
Other films in other languages are available in Broadway Cinematheque in Yau Ma Tei or the Cine Art House in Wanchai. French, Italian, German or Japanese are available.
Cinemas generally have concession stands selling your usual suspects - snacks and drinks. A gadget crazy place like Hong Kong will definitely offer modern sound systems. Bring your joacket if you are the chilly type because like many places in Hong Kong the airconditioner is set for the artic.
Ticket prices range from $40 to $80, cheaper usually during lunch. Some venues offer Tuesday specials.
The best Hong Kong entertainment deal is probably in the Directors Club in Cityplaza, Taikoo Shing or the Palace in Windsor House, Causeway Bay. You can get seats for two/couples, complimentary food and soft drinks, even a bar, and of course a state of the art screen and sound system.
The Hong Kong International Film Festival is held on April is another event to watch hundreds of films in cinemas all across the islands. The South China Morning Post and other English language newspapers or entertainment magazines usually have the daily cinema listings
Film Making | Hong Kong entertainment
Hong Kong, as a British colony, had a great degree of political and economic freedom to develop a filmmaking hub for the Chinese-speaking world. Hong Kong film is a staple among the worldwide diaspora and East Asia in general.
For decades Hong Kong's filmmaking was the third largest motion picture industry in the world (after Bollywood and Hollywood) and the second largest exporter. Despite an industry crisis starting in the mid-'90s and Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty in July 1997, Hong Kong film has retained much of its distinctive identity and continues to play a prominent part on the world cinema stage.
In the West, Hong Kong's vigorous pop cinema has long had a strong cult following, which has become large enough that it is now arguably a part of the cultural mainstream, widely available and imitated. This influence has been particularly heavy on recent Hollywood trends in the action genre.
Comedy | Hong Kong entertainment
If you are looking for stand-up comedy in Hong Kong look for the Punchline Comedy Club. The Viceroy restaurant in Wanchai is the venue of the shows which feature comedians coming all the way from the UK, Ireland and North America. The shows are quite popular and the place is usually packed to the rafters. Take advantage of the buffet before the show. Tickets go for around $290 for a show of three to four acts. Kids are not welcome and the shows can be colored. The Fringe Club in Central HK sometimes have some comedy acts.
Concerts | Hong Kong entertainment
A number of international pop and rock stars have graced the concert venues around Hong Kong. David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Oasis, the Beatles of old, The Black Eyed Peas, etc.
Classical visiting artists have included Andrea Brocelli, Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo.
There are popular strings of show by the local cantopop kings and queens.
For the classical instruments afficionados there are performances by leading Asian classical artists. Even the famous Lang Lang of China is now a Hong Kong resident. You can also listen to the Hong Kong Philharmonic or hte Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra.
The usual venues for big shows include the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, City Hall and the Convention Centre, as well as a wide selection of small and medium-sized halls around the city. Concert listings are available in most entertainment magazines.
Fashion Shows
Hong Kong people are typically fashion concious and with their buying power, almost every major fashion brand will have at least one outlet in Hong Kong. Fashion shows therefore usually take place in the large shopping malls or exhibition centres around the city.
Hong Kong Fashion Week is held twice a year during the months of January and July. This event is usually held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wanchai. Expect to see six or seven fashion shows during the event.
There are also shows held by designers of products ranging from handbars, accessories, swimwear, bridal wear, shoes, and any designer product possible.
Theatre
The annual Arts Festival brings to Hong Kong entertainment a plethora of world class acts offering performances ranging from Shakespeare to modern offerings of top Chinese directors.
Hong Kong budding art scene has engendered several local theatre groups, including some expats, who offers some regular shows. These shows offer fun and entertainment and have their own loyal following.
Hong Kong Players is one of these groups and their yearly Christmas pantomime is an important part of most Christmas in Hong Kong.
Cantopop
Cantopop is a colloquial abbreviation for "Cantonese pop music", a form of popular music that is a subgenre of C-pop. It is also known as HK-pop, short for "Hong Kong pop". Cantopop draws influence not only from other forms of Chinese music, but from a variety of international styles, including jazz, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, electronic music, Western pop music and others. By definition, Cantopop songs are almost invariably performed in Cantonese. Although Cantopop boasts a multinational fanbase, Hong Kong is the most significant hub of the genre. In Hong Kong and around the world, the Cantopop music industry is dominated largely by record labels owned by record industry giants such as Sony, EMI, Polydor, Emperor Entertainment Group, and Philips.
During the mid-80s to the mid-90s, the Cantopop genre has scaled great heights with both artistes and producers teaming up to produce songs and films of outstanding quality such as not heard of in Hong Kong previously. Cantopop stars such as Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, Alan Tam, Priscilla Chan and Danny Chan quickly became household names in the then British colony in the late 1980s with exciting talents such as Beyond, Jacky Cheung and Andy Lau soon to emerge as firm contenders in the early 1990s. The reason for the blooming of this creative era is the result of a healthy Hong Kong economical development where sponsors and record companies were able to sign composers as well as the artistes with lucrative contracts worth millions of Hong Kong dollars in addition to employing professional musicians to accompany the singers.
Further, the emergence of Hong Kong as a Westernised country meant that the territory had to possess a tangible and positive image of its own to reflect its status as a prosperous city. There would be no better alternative than to project this into the entertainment industry where glitz and glamor complement each other well. The peak of this golden age could be said to have been the era when the "Four Heavenly Kings" (Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok and Leon Lai) were first introduced to the adoring Hong Kong and overseas Chinese communities. The ultimate effect was immediate as the quality of the songs from this interesting period of development could be said to be more memorable than those of the current crop. However, this golden age was not to last. Suddenly, severe piracy issues in Southeast Asia and lacks of budding talents to take the helm of the Cantopop would result in an appalling drop in sales of music.
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