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On 19 May 1999, Hollywood Road was elected as one of the top ten shopping streets in the world. To see why it is so attractive to international travelers, you need to visit Hollywood Rd personally. There are more than 250 galleries between Wyndham Street and Possession Street, featuring every type of Chinese art and antiques imaginable. You can find 700 million year-old fossilised Dinosaur Eggs at USD 100 per piece, painted pottery from the Stone-age made 5000 years ago, Bronze-age artifacts from the fourth millennium BC, and the earliest Celadons - proto-porcelainous Yueh-ware from the Shang and Chou Dynasties. Beauty, simplicity, and elegance are exemplified by Grey Pottery Figures and Lead Glazed vessels from the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), Northern Wei Horses (4th – 6th Century), Tang Sancai, and works of art from many other periods. Galleries in the area near Possession Street deal mainly with traders, but they also sell to visitors at the dealer price. Hong Kong is the only city in China where you can legally purchase Chinese antiquities under the policy of “One Country, Two Systems”, which leaves the system unchanged for the next 50 years. |
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Selecting pieces from so many galleries to form your own collection is not an easy task, especially as there are a lot of fakes in the market. The Hong Kong Tourist Association (renamed “Hong Kong Tourism Board”) launched the “City is Life - Cultural Kaleidoscope” promotion on 1 April 2001. As part of the program, Dragon Culture, a reputable gallery, has been invited to conduct free talks to tourists every Monday and Thursday from 11 am at G/F 231 Hollywood Road Hong Kong (near Possession Street). Mr. Victor Choi, the owner of Dragon Culture, is a passionate collector. With over 25 years in the business, his know-how and expertise goes beyond the purely theoretical. A widely respected authority able to tell a genuine item from even the most skilled forgery, Mr. Choi is an entertaining and enlightened source on the history and cultural context of Chinese antiquities. |
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| Dragon Culture published a book called “Collecting Chinese Antiques in Hong Kong” in June 2001. Inside, beginners can find the answers to frequently asked questions such as “How to avoid buying fakes”, “How to start a collection”, “How to determine the value of a piece”, and most importantly, “What you can collect from each dynasty”. Mr. Choi always recommends that his clients collect pieces from each dynasty, and put them into the relevant cultural and historical contexts. His web-site www.dragonculture.com.hk is a useful resource. It contains 4 main areas for exploration: Ignite Your Sense of Art, Culture & History, Antiques Consultant and Items Available. At present, it is the best English-language Chinese Antiques web-site in Asia. Mr. Choi spent 6 years collecting terracotta horses from different periods, many of which are to be published for the 1st time in his book on horses. He told me that many of his clients are awaiting the publication of this book, in which you will be able to see changing artistic styles from dynasty to dynasty. |  |
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| As many friends and visitors from different countries want to meet him personally, do not feel bad if he takes care of you together with other clients, as he wants to satisfy everybody. Read his book “Collecting Chinese Antiques in Hong Kong” and visit his web-site www.dragonculture.com.hk. These will better prepare you to make the most of his treasure-trove of a gallery. |  |
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