PARAGON OF EVERYTHING CHINESE
The Parc Paragon of Siam Paragon will be turned into a delightful land as part of the “Siam Delightful Chinese New Year” event from tomorrow to Sunday.
Held under the “Lantern Festival” concept, the four-day celebration will be decorated with 999 coloured sculpted lanterns symbolising prosperity and wealth. They include outstanding pieces in the shape of 12 Chinese zodiac animals as high as 2.5m and the 5m-tall dogshaped centrepiece marking the Year of the Dog.
The opening ceremony is tomorrow at 6pm and will feature a Chinese drum show fronted by starlet Nicha Nattanicha. It is followed by a graceful dance performed by native Chinese dancers and a Chinese lion dance featuring heartthrob Mario Maurer.
In the evening of all four days, there will be a host of rarely-seen productions involving an exuberant blending of China’s unique ethnic culture with Han Chinese influences. The line-up includes various styles of Chinese dance, acrobatic shows, ancient Chinese magic shows, and music performed on suona or Chinese trumpet. They will be performed by 100 crew members from the city of Hangzhou, Zhejiang province of China.
Reproductions of teahouses will be presented alongside ancient Chinese outfits for visitors to try on while professional make-up artists will be there to provide Chinese-style make-up magic.
A large lit-up plum blossom-decorated tunnel will also be available.
The Hall of Fame on M floor of the shopping mall will also see a giant lantern and visitors will revel in music rendered with guzheng (Chinese zither), erhu (Chinese violin) and xiao (Chinese flute). Demonstrations on rope braiding will be provided by Huachiew Chalermprakiat University.
At the adjacent Siam Center, there will be an exhibition of lantern-mounted photographs under the concept of “All We Need Is Love” designed by up-and-coming collage artist Nakrob Moonmanas. Representing all kinds of love — familial, friendship or romantic — the pictures are interconnected with Chineseinspired chinnoiserie patterns while portraying couples of various nationalities from all walks of life dressed in red, the symbolic colour of good fortune.
Call 02-658-1000.