Christmas e-card and creativity behind Hong Kong’s Expo push

Creativity is the key ingredient to Hong Kong's contribution at World Expo 2010 Shanghai, according to the people behind the city's pavilion, and they have kicked off their six-month countdown to the event by showing just how clever they can be.

Hong Kong has released two Christmas e-cards on their website (http://www.hkexpo2010.gov.hk) for the May 1 to October 31 event next year, featuring night and day views of the city and a facility allowing users to replace the faces of four cartoon characters with photos of family and friends.

The innovative idea is in keeping with Hong Kong's theme for next year's main event - "Hong Kong - A City with Unlimited Potential"- and is the first of what the Hong Kong Government is saying will be a series of promotions and events used to publicize the city's presence in Shanghai.

Next up is a special booth at the Hong Kong Brands and Products Expo - the city's largest annual outdoor fair - which is held in the centrally located Victoria Park from December 12 to January 4, 2010.

Hong Kong's presence in Shanghai will include a stand-alone pavilion as well as a presence in the Urban Best Practices Area (UBPA) exhibition and a contribution to Expo Shanghai Online (http://en.expo2010.cn).

"We attach great importance to this invaluable opportunity to showcase the unique positioning of Hong Kong as Asia's world city,'' Hong Kong's Chief Secretary for Administration, Henry Tang, told reporters recently.

Hong Kong itself will host a pre-Expo Forum on January 21 at which local planning experts will be joined by a selection from Shanghai and New York to "discuss the merits and challenges of vertical living,'' according to the pavilion website.

It has also declared that the Hong Kong pavilion will "showcase the infinite imagination and creativity of Hong Kong and its people'' by highlighting "different aspects of Hong Kong's connectivity and creativity.''

The city's contribution to the UBPA exhibit will focus on how Hong Kong's extensive use of 'smart card' technology has "improved the efficiency and quality of daily city life,"said organizers.

MS