Arts, Culture on Tap at Hong Kong Expo

Three brightly colored ornamental cloth and papier-mache lion characters pranced around CityWalk this week, performing a traditional ceremony dating to at least 221 BC.

The traditional lion dance, believed to mark an auspicious start and future success, kicked off a six-day Hong Kong tourist exposition, which runs through Sunday.

All week, artisans and performers will cook, paint faces in opera style and demonstrate calligraphy in an effort to add to the 10 million or so people who visit the territory yearly.

“It’s a cultural festival featuring the best of Hong Kong, from craftsmen to entertainment, including noodle-making, doll-making, martial arts, an expert fortuneteller and more,” said publicist Marje Bennetts.

Barbara Bryant, the director of the Hong Kong Tourist Assn.’s Los Angeles office, said the tourism expo “has nothing to do with the changeover,” as mainland China assumes control of the territory in 1997.

The tourism expo, sponsored by the Hong Kong Tourist Assn. and the Hong Kong Alliance, made a stop at New York’s South Street Seaport before touching down in Los Angeles.

Dubbed “Hong Kong Wonders Never Cease,” the expo is free and open to the public at Universal CityWalk.

The expo is open from 3 to 6 p.m. today and Friday. Weekend hours are from noon to 7 p.m.