RECREATION
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In a city so inexorably built-up and so densely populated the sight of a green leaf may be almost a rest in itself so that where there may not be room for a park or even a garden a tree will be welcome. With this in mind the department carried on this year its increased programme of planting trees and shrubs in city streets.
ENTERTAINMENT AND THE ARTS
It has been said unkindly that Hong Kong had little time for culture and it would not have been surprising if an inevitable pre- occupation with making a living had left little time for other pursuits. This is, however, one of those generalizations which are repeated long after they have ceased to be true if they ever were.
On any day in Hong Kong now there is a creditable diary of first class entertainment, exhibitions of the graphic arts and above all evidence of lively participation in the performing arts. Of course, the cinema continues to provide the major entertainment. Elsewhere cinemas are being turned into bowling alleys and bingo parlours. In Hong Kong big new cinemas are being built in the city centre and to serve the new towns. There are now 81, most of them air- conditioned and well equipped. The public taste is for spectacle and colour, whether the film be from the west or a locally made Chinese drama. Of the Chinese films the large majority are based upon historical novels or legend and many employ the conventions of Chinese opera.
Live performances of Chinese opera are giving way as elsewhere to the cinema, and to a lesser extent television, but the arrival of the travelling troupe to perform Cantonese opera in a country courtyard or on the quayside of a fishing village is still a great event for those cut off from more sophisticated entertainment. Other forms of Chinese opera played more occasionally are well attended by knowledgeable and critical audiences.
Undoubtedly the greatest stimulus to the performance and enjoyment of live entertainment of every kind has been the City Hall which, since its opening in early 1962, has become a focus for artistic endeavour in the Colony.
The 1,500 seat concert hall comes into its own for such occasions as the visit in November of the London Symphony Orchestra who gave three concerts under conductors Colin Davis and Istvan
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