On the night of 13 April, the path leading to the Art Museum was decorated with oriental red lanterns. Some of our international students wore Chinese traditional costume and escorted guests from the Central Steps to the Art Museum with lighted lanterns in their hands. The scene was so fascinating that a number of passersby stopped to take a look.

This was the prelude to an enlightening and entertaining cocktail reception with the theme of ‘Cultural Night’. The reception welcomed about 100 students from over 30 countries or regions. Consuls-General and donors of non-local student scholarships were also in attendance at the party. The guests not only had a stimulating time meeting with friends from different parts of the world, but they also experienced the Chinese cultural heritage through various exhibitions inside the museum, including modern Chinese painting, Chinese furniture and Zisha stoneware.

The reception featured a programme of Chinese cultural presentations which included traditional music pieces performed by New Asia College Chinese Music Society, a Chinese fan dance presented by students from different countries and a Chinese calligraphy demonstration by Prof. Sung. Several fun and craft-making booths such as photo shooting in Chinese costume, paper cutting, flour sculpting and grasshopper making were also set up for guests to enjoy the Chinese heritage.

Let’s share the joy of the party through the short video of the Cultural Night.

CUHK has received five Gold awards in the Web Accessibility Recognition Scheme 2015, including the University’s homepage (www.cuhk.edu.hk), Communications and Public Relations Office (www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk), CUTV(www.cpr.cuhk.edu.hk/CUTV) and University Gallery (www.cuhk.edu.hk/ugallery) under the Website Stream and CUHK Mobile under the Mobile Application Stream.

It was the third time for CUHK homepage to win the gold award since 2013 and was again voted one of ‘My Favourite Websites’ as last year. It was also the second time for CUHK Mobile to win the gold award. Furthermore, it was encouraging to know that the websites of Communications and Public Relations Office (CPRO), CUTV and University Gallery got the gold awards the first year they joined the scheme.

The recognition scheme was jointly organized by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer and the Equal Opportunities Commission to encourage web accessibility among organizations in various industries and sectors. In order to receive the recognition, the website must be enhanced to enable the content to be easily accessed by all, including persons with disabilities or specific difficulties.

For example, CPRO website was enhanced with adjustments on the color contrast of text and images, as well as provision of bigger font size options. In addition, relevant description was added to the photographs and visuals on the site, so that by using the screen reader programme, the visually impaired can ‘hear’ all the digital content. And the video archive - CUTV, subtitles and content descriptions were also added to many of the videos so that persons with hearing impairments can enjoy them as well.

'The Art and Culture of Yixing Zisha Stoneware’ exhibition is now open at the Art Museum of CUHK. It features more than 200 exhibits from the 18th century to the present, including teapots, archaistic vessels and realistic sculptures. Jointly presented by the Art Museum of CUHK and The Leisure and Cultural Services Department, all the exhibits came from the Bei Shan Tang Collection of the CUHK Art Museum and the K.S. Lo Collection of the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware.

Zisha, literally ‘purple clay’, flourished in the mid-Ming dynasty and culminated in the works of master potters in the late-Ming. Besides its close tie with Chinese tea culture, zisha stoneware embodies the literati taste, reflecting the understated grace of Chinese culture in its exquisite craftsmanship.

Furthermore, an education gallery was set up as a complement to the exhibition to introduce the history, styles, characteristics and craftsmanship of zisha stoneware. It provides visitors with an interesting interactive learning experience in understanding the art of zisha stoneware.

The exhibition will last until 4 Oct. Free admission, all are welcome.