West Kowloon Cultural District Authority welcomes the Xiqu Centre to be featured in the design of new stamp issues in 2019

The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) welcomes Hongkong Post’s decision to issue a stamp sheetlet featuring the Xiqu Centre at the West Kowloon Cultural District (West Kowloon). Details were included in Hongkong Post’s announcement of the Special Stamps Issuing Programme 2019 and the 2019 Local Standing Order Service on 12 September 2018. The focuses of the new stamp issues in the coming year are natural grandeur and cultural vitality. The Xiqu Centre at West Kowloon, as a new landmark building standing proudly at the junction of Canton Road and Austin Road West, has been selected as one of the thematic designs for the new stamp.
 

The stamp sheetlet is designed by Michael Miller Yu and features the unique outlook of the Xiqu Centre, blending traditional and contemporary elements to give Chinese opera a whole new image. Calligraphy by the late Professor Jao Tsung-i is found at the top right hand corner of the sheetlet against a background in red, symbolising prosperity of the art form. The calligraphy also reflects the culture legacy of Hong Kong as well as reaffirming the Xiqu Centre’s objective to conserve, promote and develop the art of xiqu.
 

Duncan Pescod, Chief Executive Officer of WKCDA, said, “We are delighted that Hongkong Post will issue a stamp sheetlet featuring the Xiqu Centre at West Kowloon so soon after its official opening in January 2019. This is an apt commemoration of one of the defining moments in the West Kowloon story. As the first major performing arts venue to be open at West Kowloon, the Xiqu Centre provides a wonderful new venue in which we will promote the xiqu art form, in particular, Cantonese opera to all levels of society. With the stage dedication taking place at the end of this year, the Xiqu Centre is committed to bring a new experience of xiqu performances to Hong Kong and international audiences.”
 

The stamp issues featuring Xiqu Centre at West Kowloon includes a stamp sheetlet containing a $10 stamp, a stamp sheetlet containing a $20 stamp with special printing effect, a presentation pack, a first day cover, a datestamped first day cover affixed with a $10 stamp sheetlet, and a datestamped first day cover affixed with a $20 stamp sheetlet with a special printing effect. Advance orders for these stamp issues are now open, while the official issue date is 19 March 2019.
 

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.