Moments of the Month (December 2017)
New coffee experience
The world’s second Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room opened in the HKRI Taikoo Hui shopping mall on December 6.
That follows the opening of the coffee chain’s flagship roastery in the company’s hometown of Seattle three years ago.
The new shop is Starbucks’ biggest global outlet, signaling the company’s commitment to its fastest growing market, where a new Starbucks opens in China almost every day.
The roastery is an immersive hybrid of coffee retailing, bean roasting, tasting and education, creating a tourist attraction where people can watch and learn about the roasting and brewing of premium coffees.
Autumn ambience
The melodic sound of the guqin, a traditional seven-string zither, floated through Jing’an Sculpture Park earlier this month, blending with the crunch of people walking through fallen golden ginkgo leaves. Many people sat in the park reading, and there was even a place where people could make postcards utilizing the fallen autumn leaves.
Spanish art exhibition
The largest Antoni Gaudi exhibition ever held in Asia is being staged at Joy City in Jing’an.
Gaudi, who died in 1926, is best known as a example of Catalan modernism, with works described as highly individualistic and distinctive.
The exhibition features more than 40 works on loan from the Gaudi House Museum in Barcelona and from personal collectors. It also includes a maze, a Gaudi-themed Christmas tree and replicas of Gaudi’s chimneys.
At a pre-launch event held on December 2, more than 80 people formed a two-story-high human tower typical of festivals in Spain’s Catalonia.
Islander folkart
A South Pacific display of traditional art from island communities will be held through Sunday at Jing’an Shangri-La. It includes wooden carvings, necklaces made from shells, bowls made from palm trees and a Fijian war club.
Organizer Dahvida Falanitule, executive of the EIC Media Group, said the exhibition is designed to improve cultural awareness.
Foreign consuls-general in Shanghai, including Guergana Guermanoff from New Zealand and Yok Yee Chan from Fiji, were present at the pre-launch in late November.
Community center
A cultural venue that is part of the district’s “micro-renovation” campaign to improve the environment and foster community ties reopened this month after a year of renovation.
The two-story exhibition and information center on 600 Shaanxi Road N. formerly was a site only showcasing the history and culture of a neighborhood dotted with historic buildings and the former residences of notables.
The renovated center has been expanded to a multipurpose cultural facility where people can enjoy coffee or tea, read books, learn about the city’s history, make handicrafts and attend lectures.
Neighborhood fruit
The pomelo, a citrus fruit similar to a grapefruit, was at the center of the annual festival in the Baohua Modern City neighborhood, where pomelo trees grow in abundance. Every autumn, residents pick the large fruits and celebrate the harvest.
The fruit or its peel are often used in candymaking, desserts, liquers and decoration. It is also said to help boost the immune system, improve digestion, ease cramps and lower blood pressure.
