All about China
By Zenaida Serrano
Advertiser Staff Writer
| |||
| |||
Make just one stop for everything you love about the Chinese culture — the mouth-watering cuisine, heart-pounding lion dances and trendy fashions — at the Splendor of China, today and tomorrow at the Blaisdell Exhibition Hall.
The fifth annual trade show and cultural festival features more than 100 booths touting antiques, jewelry, souvenirs, crafts, food and official 2008 Beijing Olympics logo merchandise.
Entertainment includes dragon dances, kung-fu demonstrations, Chinese folk dances and a Chinese dog show. Among the event highlights is a performance by a group of acrobats, dancers and face-changing magicians from Sichuan province.
Bian lian (literally means "face changing") is a 300-year-old art that involves a magician wearing an elaborate mask that he can change into different masks — sans his hands — in the blink of an eye. The Sichuan group is making Hawai'i its first stop on a Mainland West Coast tour.
Other Splendor of China offerings include a keiki corner, health exhibits, mah-jong exhibition, and demonstrations on cooking, feng shui, paper-cutting, acupuncture and calligraphy.
The event also kicks off the 59th Narcissus Festival with an appearance by reigning Narcissus Queen Jessica Lau and her court, and an introduction of the 2008 Narcissus Queen Pageant contestants.
The Splendor of China is sponsored by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i and Panda Express.
• • •
Splendor of China 10 a.m.-9 p.m. today and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. tomorrow Blaisdell Exhibition Hall $5 general, $3 military personnel, free for children 10 and younger; coupons for $1 off admission are available at all O'ahu Panda Express restaurants with any purchase. 533-3181, www.splendorofchina.com |
Reach Zenaida Serrano at zserrano@honoluluadvertiser.com.