A journey through ancient China in Lego form
HONG KONG (ANN/CHINA DAILY) – During the National Day Golden Week, held from October 1 to 7, New Town Plaza in Sha Tin, Hong Kong, attracted a significant number of tourists to view a new Guinness World Record.
The centrepiece of the attraction is a large-scale Lego recreation of Along the River During the Qingming Festival, a renowned painting from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127).
The exhibit, covering 47 square meters, is the largest Lego display ever created and will be open to the public from September 25 to October 31.
This installation has quickly become a popular destination, offering a unique blend of Eastern cultural heritage and Western innovation, where traditional Chinese art meets a globally recognized toy.
“We rolled out this exhibit mainly to promote traditional Chinese culture through creative events in a way that is more relaxed, entertaining and appealing to young people,” says Tania Wan, deputy general manager of personal banking and wealth management with Bank of China (Hong Kong), which initiated the programme.
As people walk along the 26-metre-long three-dimensional diorama made from about 3 million Lego bricks, they can picture themselves in bustling streets from centuries ago where vendors sold melons and kids played hide and seek.
“There were myriad depictions of people in all walks of life going about their daily activities and no two objects are identical,” a visitor surnamed Chung says. “Everything seemed to be brought to life within seconds.”
Pointing at a two-story building with a front door decorated with colourful ribbons, Li Chun-tung, an art lecturer at the University of Hong Kong, said: “This was one of the busiest restaurants then, with decorations typical of taverns and bars in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was among many buildings and structures vividly restored in this model.”
The Lego diorama recaptures many details of life centuries ago, like those depicted in the painting. There were various trades including a joss stick shop, barber, fortuneteller and medical clinic, and larger businesses such as teahouses, restaurants, taverns, butchers and hawkers, as well as different means of transportation like sedans, wagons, donkeys, horses and camels.
However, programme executive and Lego-certified professional Andy Hung is far from satisfied. With over 10 years as the coordinator and creator of Lego exhibitions, the veteran admits there are still details unrestored due to Lego’s limitations in displaying human figures.
For Hung, it was by no means an easy job, with five months spent sorting out a blueprint. Hung has polished Lego solutions and consulted historians and architects, in addition to getting inspiration from archives.
“Every project is new to me because each time, I face a different scene, a different architecture and a different culture. Recreating these through Lego is a challenge,” Hung says.
In his studio in Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon, among items on display are fun Lego re-creations stemming from traditional Chinese culture, including the Forbidden City, Peking Opera masks, Suzhou double-sided embroidered fans, the Terracotta Warriors and the Yellow Crane Tower.
“Young people in Hong Kong are very interested in recreating traditional Chinese cultural works with Lego. This time, we invited many young people and students from Hong Kong for the project and they were very passionate,” Hung says.
“I am simply demonstrating traditional culture with my works and let the ingenious toys tell of traditional culture,” he says.
