“World Cultural Heritage Carnival of the Greater Bay Area”
Organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from the Portuguese acronym), the Cultural Heritage Bureau and the Culture, Radio, Television, Press and Publication Bureau of Kaiping City, co-organized by the Macao Government Tourism Office and the Kaiping Natives Association of Macao, the “World Cultural Heritage Carnival of the Greater Bay Area – Historic Centre of Macao and the Kaiping Diaolou and Villages”, will be held on 24 and 25 November (Saturday and Sunday), at Taipa Houses. The Carnival features a rich variety of programmes, including a number of distinctive game booths, a showcase of intangible cultural heritage embodied in traditional crafts and cultural and creative products, as well as extraordinary performances. Admission is free. Residents and tourists are welcome to participate.
The “Historic Centre of Macao” and the “Kaiping Diaolou and Villages” were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2005 and 2007, as the 31st and 34th World Heritage sites of China, respectively, and they are currently the only two World Heritage sites within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Given their similar geographical location and architectural features, in order to strengthen the exchanges of cultural heritage protection and management between the two cities, fully develop their cultural advantages and jointly create the cultural brand of the Greater Bay Area, facilitate the cooperation and promotion on various aspects such as cultural tourism, cultural and creative industries and gastronomy, the cultural departments of Macao and Kaiping jointly organize the Carnival, offering extraordinary programmes and showcasing the distinctive cultural heritage of Kaiping City in Guangdong Province and Macao, thereby allowing residents and tourists to further understand the profound cultures of the two cities as well as of the Greater Bay Area.
The opening ceremony of the Carnival will be held on 24 November, at 11am, at the Taipa Houses. The Carnival features a rich variety of programmes, including a number of distinctive game booths, a showcase for intangible cultural heritage embodied in traditional crafts and cultural and creative products, as well as extraordinary performances from Macao and Kaiping, such as youth Cantonese opera, folk dance and music performances. In addition, the Carnival also features an exhibition and a talk themed on the cultural heritage of the two cities. The talk will be held on 24 November, at 2:30pm, at the Carmo Hall in Taipa. All interested parties are welcome to participate.
Admission to a series of activities of the Carnival is free. All residents and tourists are welcome to participate with families and friends and feel the lively atmosphere of this cultural feast. For enquiries about the activities, please contact IC through tel. no. 2836 6320 during office hours or visit IC’s website at www.icm.gov.mo.