STORY: Panorama of old, new Hong Kong captured at fingertips
SHOOTING TIME: Aug. 19, 2024
DATELINE: Aug. 19, 2024
LENGTH: 00:01:34
LOCATION: HONG KONG, China
CATEGORY: TECHNOLOGY/SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of a ferry pier near the Lei Yue Mun channel in Hong Kong
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): STEPHEN LAW KWOK HING, Resident in Lei Yue Mun
3. various of the effects of the project on screen
4. various of the team members working
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JEFFREY SHAW, Artistic director of the "City In Time" project and chair professor with the Academy of Visual Art of Hong Kong Baptist University
6. various of the Lei Yue Mun
7. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): JEFFREY SHAW, Artistic director of the "City In Time" project and chair professor with the Academy of Visual Art of Hong Kong Baptist University
8. various of the team members discussing
9. SOUNDBITE 4 (English): RICHARD ALLEN, Chair professor of the School of Creative Media at the City University of Hong Kong and project director of the team

STORYLINE:

Holding still his mobile phone screen across a ferry pier near the Lei Yue Mun channel in Hong Kong, Stephen Law Kwok Hing, managing director of Gateway Cuisine, a well-known seafood restaurant, was feeling nostalgic.

Scenes of the old-age stone quarry and time-honored brands brought back memories of the then fishing village and his late father.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): STEPHEN LAW KWOK HING, Resident in Lei Yue Mun
"When I saw the animated scenes of the old shops and familiar faces, it felt like I was reconnecting with my father, who is no longer with us. The sense of nostalgia and connection to the past was incredibly powerful."

Law was observing and reminiscing through a special app, called "City in Time," a cultural and creative tourism project launched in 2021 by the Tourism Commission of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government.

The project is the world's first tourism project to fully apply augmented reality (AR) in an urban environment, seeking to enrich the experience of residents and visitors in Hong Kong with the combination of art and technology.

Developed and produced by the School of Creative Media of the City University of Hong Kong on the commission of the Tourism Commission, the project was launched at 28 designated locations in Hong Kong. With just a mobile phone installed with the designated app, one can literally travel across time to see and feel a kaleidoscopic Hong Kong.

Restoring the memories behind is by no means an easy job. Many streets are no longer in existence, so the team collected pictures, videos, sounds and other materials through various channels, consulted historians to create virtual 3D models, and even invited local young artists to draw different angles of the buildings and character illustrations, said Jeffrey Shaw, artistic director of the "City In Time" project and chair professor with the Academy of Visual Art of Hong Kong Baptist University.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): JEFFREY SHAW, Artistic director of the "City In Time" project and chair professor with the Academy of Visual Art of Hong Kong Baptist University
"I think another really wonderful feature of city in time is the fact that we not only have these historical panoramas, but we've asked so many talented Hong Kong artists to do reinterpretation of these panoramas."

Seafood business was once the busiest here, recalled Law, a resident who has been living in Lei Yue Mun for nearly 70 years.

As a witness to the local changes, Law said he was quite impressed by the "AR clock" on the app, which vividly restored animated scenes of bustling seafood business and local restaurant waiters busy inviting and serving customers.

Besides visual arts, the team also invited a professional film sound editing company to create authentic sound effects and retell the old stories.

"City In Time" emerges and thrives from a budding need for immersive tourism that blends culture, technologies with creativity, and is boosting tourism by enriching travelers' experience.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): JEFFREY SHAW, Artistic director of the "City In Time" project and chair professor with the Academy of Visual Art of Hong Kong Baptist University
"For tourists, of course, it will be quite remarkable shock, because sometimes the changes are very, very radical. And you know if you're standing on the street and suddenly discover that you're standing in the middle of the harbor in the water, that'll be a big surprise."

Strolling through Lei Yue Mun, one can scan the AR clock to travel back to the old days of the fishing village, learn about the century-old stone quarry, and admire the mesmerizing island sceneries.

There is just so much more about Hong Kong to tap into and bring to life, said Richard Allen, chair professor of the School of Creative Media at the City University of Hong Kong and project director of the team, adding that the team is ready to expand it further to cover every corner of the city, including Tai Hang and Kowloon City.

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): RICHARD ALLEN, Chair professor of the School of Creative Media at the City University of Hong Kong and project director of the team
"With the support of the tourism commission, we hope to develop further sites in the city. Because obviously there are many places that are both of tourist interest and culturally rich to talk about in Hong Kong."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Hong Kong, China.
(XHTV)