Avenue of Stars, Hong Kong

The Avenue of Stars (zh-c|c=星光大道), modelled on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is located along the Victoria Harbour waterfront in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong. It honours celebrities of the Hong Kong film industry.

History

In 1982, the New World Group built a promenade along the waterfront around the New World Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon. In 2003, the Group announced it would spend HK$40 million to build the Avenue of Stars, a project supported by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, Tourism Commission, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of the Hong Kong government and the Hong Kong Film Awards Association.

The avenue was opened to the general public on 28 April 2004 with an opening ceremony held the previous day, 27 April. The opening ceremony was presided over by a number of government and industry figures including Henry Tang ("Financial Secretary"), Stephen Ip ("Secretary for Economic Development and Labour"), Patrick Ho ("Secretary of Home Affairs"), Selina Chow ("Chair of Hong Kong Tourism Board"), Manfred Wong (Director/Actor), and Cheng Yu Tung (Chair of New World Group); in which the privately-funded Avenue was handed over to the Hong Kong SAR government as public property.

At opening, the avenue honours an initial 73 inductees elected by the Hong Kong Film Awards Association and the readers of City Entertainment.

Description

The Avenue of Stars is the eastern node of several tourist attractions along the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront. In addition to the promenade and New World Centre, a number of attractions exist including the Museum of Art, Space Museum, Cultural Centre and the Clock Tower.

Entering from Salisbury Garden, a 4.5-metre-tall replica of the statuette given to winners at the Hong Kong Film Awards greets visitors. Along the 440 metre promenade, the story of Hong Kong's one hundred years of cinematic history is told through inscriptions printed on nine red pillars. Set into the promenade are plaques honouring the celebrities. Some plaques contain hand prints and autographs of the stars set in cement, but most of the plaques only contain celebrities' names as they are now deceased.

The promenade commands a stunning panoramic view across Victoria Harbour. At night it is a popular viewing place for the Symphony of Lights display. It is a good place to go to see the glamourous stars of HK.

A large replica of the 2008 Summer Olympics torch will be on permanent display here.

List of stars

ee also

*Avenue of Stars, London
*Hollywood Walk of Fame, Los Angeles, California
*Canada's Walk of Fame, Toronto, Ontario

External links

* [http://www.avenueofstars.com.hk Avenue of Stars official website]
* [http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/touring/hkwalks/ta_walk_walk3.jhtml#route04 Short descriptions from Hong Kong Tourism Board website]
* [http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/touring/hkiidistricts/ta_dist_ytmk4.jhtml Details from Hong Kong Tourism Board website]
* [http://partnernet.hktb.com/pnweb/PDF/Decease_E_bio.pdf Profiles of 35 deceased film professionals commended for their achievements in the history of Hong Kong cinema]