XN000022-1980-09-19 — Page 10

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1980

LESSONS WILL BE CONDUCTED IN CANTONESE, BUT SOME ENGLISH TERMINOLOGY WILL BE USED.

APPLICATION FORMS ARE OBTAINABLE FROM THE HONG KONG TECHNICAL TEACHERS' COLLEGE, 373 QUEEN'S ROAD EAST, HONG KONG AND COMPLETED FORMS SHOULD BE RETURNED TO THE COLLEGE ON OR BEFORE OCTOBER 4.

BONSAI SHOW OPENS ON CHEUNG CHAU

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A THREE-DAY BONSAI (MINIATURE TREES) EXHIBITION WILL OPEN ON CHEUNG CHAU TOMORROW (SATURDAY).

ON DISPLAY WILL BE 129 MINIATURE TREES PROVIDED BY LOCAL VILLAGE ELDERS, SCHOOL PRINCIPALS AND COMMUNITY LEADERS. THERE WILL ALSO BE DISPLAYS OF RARE ORCHIDS AND ARRANGED FLOWERS.

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THE EXHIBITION IS ORGANISED BY CHEUNG CHAU CULTURE AND RECREATION ADVANCEMENT ASSOCIATION, FORMED A YEAR AGO WITH THE AIM OF MAKING AVAILABLE TO THE ISLAND'S 40 000 RESIDENTS A RANGE OF ACTIVITIES SUCH AS CONCERTS, EXHIBITIONS AND TRAINING COURSES.

THE VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE ASSOCIATION, MR TANG YIM-WAH, SAID HE HOPED THE EXHIBITION WOULD HELP POPULARISE THE TRADITIONAL CHINESE HORTICULTURAL ART OF CULTIVATING MINIATURE TREES.

+ BONSAI STRESSES THE EMBODIMENT OF THE BEAUTY OF NATURE IN A TINY COMPASS, HE SAID. THIS IS PARTICULARLY RELEVANT TO CHEUNG CHAU BECAUSE IT REMINDS US THAT QUALITY AND BEAUTY ARE ACHIEVABLE THOUGH ITS SIZE IS SMALL AND THE POPULATION IS FAST INCREASING.+

AMONG THE EXHIBITS WILL BE A 100-YEAR-OLD CHINESE HACKBERRY TREE OWNED BY AN ELDER OF THE ISLAND, MR WONG SING-YIP. HE BOUGHT IT IN CHINA MORE THAN 30 YEARS AGO AND HAS SINCE ATTENDED IT DAILY TO ACHIEVE ITS PRESENT POSTURE.

MR WONG, WHO IS MORE THAN 60 YEARS OLD, SAID MINIATURE TREE CULTIVATION INVOLVED ARTISTIC PERCEPTION, PERSISTENCE AND CONSTANT REFINEMENT.

+ I AM STILL LEARNING THE ART AFTER MORE THAN 40 YEARS,+ HE SAID.

THE CHAIRMAN OF CHEUNG CHAU RURAL COMMITTEE, MR FUNG PAK-TAI, WILL PERFORM THE RIBBON-CUTTING CEREMONY AT 2 PM TOMORROW IN THE PLAYGROUND OF THE FISHERMEN'S ASSOCIATION PUBLIC SCHOOL.

A FLOWER ARRANGING DEMONSTRATION WILL BE HELD IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE OPENING CEREMONY.

A CATALOGUE CONTAINING DETAILS OF EXHIBITS AND ARTICLES ON THE HISTORY AND TECHNIQUES OF MINIATURE TREE GROWING WILL BE DISTRIBUTED FREE TO VISITORS. FUNDS FOR THE DISPLAY HAVE BEEN PROVIDED BY ISLANDS DISTRICT ADVISORY BOARD.

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