Technological advancement has brought us all sorts of electronic pastimes products. In ancient China, where there was no television, electronic game or karaoke, how did people spend their leisure time?


Devoting this year to the theme of "Pastimes", the Hong Kong Heritage Museum will be looking at the historical development and social significance of pastimes from various angles, such as art and history. The first in a series of events planned or the year, the exhibition "Enlightening Trivialities - Ancient Chinese Pastimes" will present a great variety of ancient Chinese leisure activities. Some of these are well known, having been passed down through the generations, but others are more obscure, our knowledge of them no more than broad outlines that have emerged from historical artifacts. Jointly presented by the Leisure & Cultural Services Department and the National Museum of China, the exhibition showcases 115 sets of artifacts - ancient musical instruments, figurines of music players and dancers, pictures on bricks, tools for chess games and picture scrolls from the National Museum of China - that trace the development of ancient music, dance, acrobatics, operatic arts, hunting and sports activities of our ancestors. Several games will also be recreated in the gallery so that visitors can share in the fun of our ancestors' pastimes.