Hong Kong display strikes gold at Chelsea Flower Show with rare orchids
The Chelsea Flower Show, held in London every summer for more than a century, is a British institution drawing around 150,000 gardening enthusiasts to enjoy spectacular floral displays.
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This year, there was an exhibit with a difference, featuring rare orchids from Hong Kong and other parts of Asia and the Pacific.
The vibrant display, with orchids from Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in the New Territories, won a coveted gold medal and was visited by Queen Camilla. It also sent a powerful message about the need to protect the ecologically significant but endangered plants.
'We have got 150,000 bees in to look at the orchids,' said John Parke Wright IV, chairman of Orchid Conservation Chelsea, referring to the show's visitors. 'They are being pollinated with ideas about conservation and why it is important.'
The Hong Kong section at the Chelsea Flower Show. Photo: Cliff Buddle
Wright, who knows China well having worked for Jardine Matheson in the 1970s, was instrumental in forming the orchid group, comprising 25 institutions globally.
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'Around the world, people don't look at Hong Kong as a trail running destination, so I was really excited to show people this is what Hong Kong has to offer,' said the director, who was born and raised in the city. 'We've got one of the hardest challenges in the world, and it's here in a city which most people think is just skyscrapers.' How Twilight of the Warriors director spotlighted City of Darkness' spirit Challenges of making Four Trails Before filming began, Lee hiked most of Hong Kong's four main trails – MacLehose, Wilson, Hong Kong and Lantau – to familiarise himself with the terrain, identify key filming spots and connect with the runners before the race. With no script to follow and less than 72 hours to record most of the footage, building rapport was crucial in shaping a human-centred narrative. 'It's like a big jigsaw puzzle, [but] there's no picture that you have to follow. You're creating the picture, so it's really difficult to try to figure that out,' he said. 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Photo: Edko Films Ltd Blazing a trail for the industry The commercial success of Four Trails is rare in Hong Kong – Lee's experience of balancing his passion with freelance work is not. Ryan Lai, who has been a documentary filmmaker for about six years, said funding was the major challenge for him and others in this field. 'It's extremely difficult to make a living from documentaries in Hong Kong,' Lai explained. 'Unlike narrative films, documentaries typically lack commercial appeal and therefore attract little to no investment. Aside from some occasional art-related funding, there's almost no financial support available.' As a result, Lai said most documentary filmmakers would treat their work as a side project, not a viable career. 'That's a major obstacle for anyone who wants to pursue this seriously in the long run,' he said. Thus, Lee hopes the unexpected triumph of Four Trails can spur greater support for documentary filmmaking in Hong Kong. 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