West Kowloon Cultural District Authority welcomes Cantonese opera to be featured in the design of the new HK$100 banknotes

The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) welcomes Cantonese opera being selected as the thematic design for the HK$100 denominations of the 2018 new series Hong Kong banknotes announced by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the three note-issuing banks (NIBs) – Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (SCB), Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited (BOCHK) and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC).
 

Consistent with the current series, the new HK$100 banknotes adopt the same red colour scheme but with the thematic subjects presented vertically on the reverse side for the first time.  Each NIB has come up with a unique design to celebrate the beautiful tradition of Cantonese opera and to reflect this cultural legacy of Hong Kong.  HSBC depicts a loving couple meeting in a Chinese garden while the close-up of a Cantonese opera actress is featured in BOCHK’s design.  SCB’s design for their HK$100 denomination features two young Cantonese opera artists in royal costumes portrayed against the backdrop of the world-class Xiqu Centre at the West Kowloon Cultural District (West Kowloon).
 

WKCDA is honoured to have been invited by the HKMA to be involved in the design process for the new HK$100 banknotes.  With the support of virtuosos from the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong, accurate and detailed expert opinions have been provided on the design layouts to the NIBs.
 

Duncan Pescod, Chief Executive Officer of WKCDA, said, “The Xiqu Centre is the first major venue to be completed at West Kowloon and it will be the place to experience the best of Chinese opera from Hong Kong and around the world.  While we are eagerly anticipating its opening at the end of this year, we are thrilled that SCB has decided to include the building into the design of the new HK$100 banknote to commemorate this defining moment in the West Kowloon development.”
 

The new HK$100 banknotes will be ready for issue and circulation, shortly after the opening of the Xiqu Centre.  Both the issue of the new banknotes and the opening of the Xiqu Centre are perfectly timed to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Cantonese opera being inscribed onto the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Culture Heritage of Humanity following a joint application by Guangdong Province and the Hong Kong and Macao SAR governments.
 

Remarks
 

About West Kowloon Cultural District
Located on Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, West Kowloon Cultural District is one of the largest cultural projects in the world. Its vision is to create a vibrant new cultural quarter for Hong Kong. With a complex of theatres, performance spaces and museums, the West Kowloon Cultural District will produce and host world-class exhibitions, performances and cultural events, as well as provide 23 hectares of public open space, including a two-kilometre waterfront promenade.
 

About the Xiqu Centre
The Xiqu Centre, set to open in 2018, is one of the West Kowloon Cultural District’s major venues and acts as the eastern gateway to the district. Specifically built for performances of Chinese traditional theatre, it will also provide a centre for the production, education and research of this unique art form.