STORY: World's largest lego enlivens iconic ancient Chinese painting
SHOOTING TIME: Aug. 27 and Sept. 23, 2024
DATELINE: Oct. 7, 2024
LENGTH: 0:02:13
LOCATION: HONG KONG, China
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the exhibit
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): TANIA WAN, Deputy general manager of Personal Banking and Wealth Management with Bank of China (Hong Kong)
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): ANDY HUNG, Program executive and lego certified professional
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): ANDY HUNG, Program executive and lego certified professional
5. various of the exhibit

STORYLINE:

The National Day Golden Week has seen a highlight, with tourists flocking to New Town Plaza in Sha Tin, the eastern New Territories, to see for themselves another new Guinness World Record.
   
Here a long scroll of the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival," an iconic painting of Northern Song Dynasty (960-1126), unfolded and has been on display, ingeniously constructed straight from lego bricks.

For viewers, the exhibit is impressive in a way that it blends two vastly different cultural representatives from the East and the West: a masterpiece of ancient Chinese painting and a classic toy igniting childhood memories of westerners.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): TANIA WAN, Deputy general manager of Personal Banking and Wealth Management with Bank of China (Hong Kong)
"We hope to organize an event themed around the inheritance of Chinese culture, allowing young people to participate while celebrating the National Day. This will enable them to experience our profound historical culture and take pride in it."

The lego diorama recaptures many details of life over centuries ago, much the same as those depicted in the painting. There were various trades including a joss stick shop, barber, fortune teller and medical clinic, and larger businesses such as teahouses, restaurants, taverns, butchers, and hawkers, as well as different means of transportation like sedan chairs, wagons, donkeys, horses and camels.

However, program executive and lego certified professional Andy Hung was far from being satisfied. With over 10 years of coordinator and creator of lego exhibitions, the veteran admitted there were still details unrestored due to the limitation of lego in displaying human figures.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): ANDY HUNG, Program executive and lego certified professional
"In the 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' painting, there is a wealth of Chinese cultural history and many picturesque scenes. I have always loved it and had the idea of recreating this artwork using LEGO."

For Hung, it was by no means an easy job, with five months spent on sorting out blueprint. Hung has polished lego solutions, consulted historians and architects, in addition to inspirations from archives.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): ANDY HUNG, Program executive and lego certified professional
"'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' is a flat painting, but we need to create a three-dimensional model using LEGO. We have to build out the areas that are not depicted in the painting, so we added a lot of creativity in some places."

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