Pay your respects, watch crazy stunts
Paradise Park invites everyone to celebrate the Year of Goat by paying homage to the statue of Chinese god Che Kung and enjoying an acrobatic show by a Chinese troupe, during the “Paradise Park Chinese New Year 2015 Happy Go Lucky” festival, from Wednesday until Feb 22.
Regarded as the god of fortune, success and health, Che Kung has been housed at Hong Kong’s Che Kung Temple for more than 300 years. Hundreds of thousands of people visit the temple during the Chinese New Year festival to pay homage to the statue.
Performing at the festival will be the Hunan Acrobatics Troupe, from China’s Hunan province. Founded 150 years ago at the end of the Qing Dynasty, the troupe has performed on five continents and received more than 200 international awards.
The show consists of six performances. “Warrior Grace” features somersaults, spinning and jumping on a wooden stick. “Magic Silk” sees performers moving on a sling and building an elegant human pyramid. “Female Warrior Umbrella” portrays a perfect combination of strength and delicacy in posing with umbrellas.
“Flying Dragon & Heaven Pole” is a gravity-defying performance on a 7m-high pole. “Ladies Climb the Cloud” is performed by female acrobats in beautiful costumes showing their elegant dances, steps and balance.
The show will be staged at the Royal Park Plaza on the first floor, daily at 6pm. On weekends there will be an additional show, at 3pm. There is no admission fee.
There will be a dragon parade during the festival’s opening ceremony, on Wednesday at 2pm. Other activities throughout the five days include fortune telling by Acharn Benja Suparerk, live guzheng music, a Chinese food festival and free workshops on Chinese knitting, Chinese paper folding and cutting, and Chinese calligraphy.