ENG-1979 — Page 250

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Recreation and the Arts

IN RECENT years, Hong Kong people have increasingly been able to pursue a considerable assortment of cultural, recreational and educational activities in their leisure time.

Hong Kong has become a cultural leader in Southeast Asia. At locations such as the City Hall, the Hong Kong Arts Centre and even outdoor venues, innumerable events are held, ranging from traditional Cantonese operas and puppet shows to stimulating performances by local and international orchestras and entertainers.

Thousands of sporting and recreational activities attract enthusiastic participants and supporters. Throughout the year, organisations such as the Urban Council, the Recreation and Sport Service, the Central Co-ordinating Committee for Youth Recreation, governing sports bodies and many voluntary associations plan and co-ordinate a crowded calendar of events. Plans to improve and increase recreational facilities throughout Hong Kong are going ahead, ranging from smaller scale projects to international-standard sports stadia. The spotlight is on Hong Kong's talented young people. In 1979, the Hong Kong Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Hong Kong Youth Chinese Orchestra made a highly success- ful tour of the United Kingdom. On the home front, the Hong Kong Academy of Ballet and the Hong Kong Conservatory of Music began operating to upgrade ballet and music standards. The Jubilee Sports Centre is to be built at Sha Tin to train athletes for interna- tional competitions as Hong Kong gears itself for the 1980s.

The Countryside

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Every weekend and on public holidays, many people of all ages walk across the hills and through the wooded valleys of Hong Kong. To cater for the growing interest in outdoor recreation, provision was made in 1976 for the more important areas of countryside to be designated as country parks under the Country Parks Ordinance. Since then, some 21 country parks covering about 40 per cent (41,780 hectares) of Hong Kong's total land area have been created. During 1979, an estimated four million people visited them.

The Director of Agriculture and Fisheries is the Country Parks Authority and is respon- sible for the management of the country parks. Facilities provided at the parks include picnic sites with tables and benches, litter bins, children's play apparatus, and fireplaces for barbecues. In the more remote areas, a campsite programme was launched in 1979 to provide simple facilities for hikers. Furthermore, a 100-kilometre walk the MacLehose Trail which traverses the New Territories from Sai Kung in the east to Tuen Mun in the west, exclusively through country parks, was opened in October. Other footpaths are being improved and waymarked, and there are nature trails with guidebooks available for people who want them.

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The Agriculture and Fisheries Department takes measures to safeguard the countryside against fire -- often caused by careless visitors - and it is responsible for landscape rehabilita-