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On Stage

The many faces of China

By Burl Burlingame

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Oct 03, 2008

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Being two-faced isn't anything new this political season. However, like everything else, the Chinese were there first, inventing split-second face changes more than three centuries ago. You can get a taste of that peculiar skill -- as well as savory flavors from all over China -- in this year's edition of the "Splendor of China Cultural Festival and Trade Show," whipped up by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and Panda Express.

SPLENDOR OF CHINA CULTURAL FESTIVAL AND TRADE SHOW

Place: Blaisdell Exhibition Hall

Time: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday

Admission: $6, with discounts for military and children and those with coupons from Panda Express or L & L restaurants

Call: 533-3181 or visit www.splendorofchina.com
The headliners, the face-changers, are the Fire Spitting Face-Changing Magicians and Acrobatic Comedians hailing from a Sichuan opera troupe. The magician's intricate mask can alter its countenance in a split second, morphing from character to character in an eye blink, sometimes 10 changes in 20 seconds, which is even more flip-flopping than a presidential candidate.

Also on tap: Mingxiao Qin and Jinfen Yao, famous husband-and-wife magicians from Beijing; guzheng musician Ji Wei (the guzheng is a millenniums-old stringed musical instrument); noted chef Martin Yan, host of "Yan Can Cook"; plus the usual colorful array of lions and dragons dancing, fashion shows, food, crafts, feng shui, Narcissus queens and martial-arts how-tos. Ding hao!

Being two-faced isn't anything new this political season. However, like everything else, the Chinese were there first, inventing split-second face changes more than three centuries ago. You can get a taste of that peculiar skill -- as well as savory flavors from all over China -- in this year's edition of the "Splendor of China Cultural Festival and Trade Show," whipped up by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and Panda Express.

Courtesy Splendor of China
A fire-breathing acrobat? That's hot!

SPLENDOR OF CHINA CULTURAL FESTIVAL AND TRADE SHOW

Place: Blaisdell Exhibition Hall

Time: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday

Admission: $6, with discounts for military and children and those with coupons from Panda Express or L & L restaurants

Call: 533-3181 or visit www.splendorofchina.com
The headliners, the face-changers, are the Fire Spitting Face-Changing Magicians and Acrobatic Comedians hailing from a Sichuan opera troupe. The magician's intricate mask can alter its countenance in a split second, morphing from character to character in an eye blink, sometimes 10 changes in 20 seconds, which is even more flip-flopping than a presidential candidate.

Also on tap: Mingxiao Qin and Jinfen Yao, famous husband-and-wife magicians from Beijing; guzheng musician Ji Wei (the guzheng is a millenniums-old stringed musical instrument); noted chef Martin Yan, host of "Yan Can Cook"; plus the usual colorful array of lions and dragons dancing, fashion shows, food, crafts, feng shui, Narcissus queens and martial-arts how-tos. Ding hao!

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