Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025: Celebrate Sustainable Farming and Taste Four Unique Watermelon Varieties!

AFCD to hold Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025

​The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) will hold the Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025 from June 20 to feature four highlighted varieties of organic watermelons this year.

A spokesman for the AFCD said today (June 18), "The annual Local Organic Watermelon Festival promotes local organic watermelons and other premium agricultural products, enhances sustainability of local agriculture, and provides farmers with opportunities to share their harvests and engage with the public."

At the Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025, four highlighted varieties of watermelons, namely Reyan 2K, Hami Yellow Flesh, Super Sweet Black Angel 168 and Diana, will be featured. The Reyan 2K, a new variety introduced this year, is oblong with green, dark striped skin, has a thin rind and intense juicy red flesh with a sweetness of around 12 degrees Brix (degrees of Brix denote the units for measuring sucrose content in solution). The Hami Yellow Flesh, also oblong with dark green, striped skin, has yellowish-orange flesh and a sweetness of around 10 degrees Brix. The Super Sweet Black Angel 168 is small and spherical with dark striped skin and green and bright crimson-coloured flesh, also with a sweetness of around 12 degrees Brix. Diana, oblong with bright striped skin in yellow, features intense red flesh and a sweetness of around 11 degrees Brix. Local organic watermelons generally have a sweetness ranging from 8 to 12 degrees Brix.

The AFCD, together with the Vegetable Marketing Organization (VMO), the Federation of Vegetable Marketing Co-operative Societies Ltd and the MTR Corporation Limited will co-organise the first four-day organic farmers' market of the Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025. The public can buy local organic agricultural products at Maritime Square 1 from June 20 to June 23. The event will also feature booth games and workshops, providing recreational activities for the public.

Furthermore, the AFCD will continue to invite all regular organic farmers' markets to join the Local Organic Watermelon Festival. Starting from July, the public can purchase local organic watermelons and other seasonal vegetables and fruits at organic farmers' markets across various districts. They can also order from the VMO via the "Local Fresh" website (www.localfreshhk.com) and mobile application or purchase from certified organic farmers listed on the Hong Kong Organic Resource Centre Certification Limited website (www.hkorc-cert.org/en). The opening dates and times of these farmers' markets are listed in the Annex. Local organic watermelons as well as other seasonal vegetables and fruits are available for a limited time while stocks last.

For more details on the Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025, please visit the AFCD website (www.afcd.gov.hk/english) or Facebook page (www.facebook.com/afcdgovhk).

AFCD to hold Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

AFCD to hold Local Organic Watermelon Festival 2025 Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Chinese Mainland Film Panorama 2026 opens tonight

The opening ceremony for the Chinese Mainland Film Panorama 2026 was held tonight (October 6) at Hong Kong City Hall, followed by a screening of the opening animation "Nobody" (2025).

The Under Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism, Mr Raistlin Lau; the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Publicity, Cultural and Sports Affairs of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Lin Nan; the Chairman of the Southern Film Culture Foundation and General Manager of the Sil-Metropole Organisation Ltd, Mr Ding Kai; the Director of Leisure and Cultural Services, Ms Manda Chan; the Chairman of the South China Film Industry Workers Union, Mr Cheung Hong-tat; the chief planner and producer of the opening film, Cui Wei, and the supervising producer and art director of the film, Chen Liaoyu, officiated at the opening ceremony.

The Panorama is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and the Southern Film Culture Foundation in association with the Sil-Metropole Organisation Ltd, the China Film Foundation and the South China Film Industry Workers Union, and is supported by the Bauhinia Culture Group. Twelve feature films, some accompanied by short films, will be shown at Hong Kong City Hall, the Hong Kong Film Archive, the Hong Kong Space Museum, North District Town Hall, the East Kowloon Cultural Centre and the Rayson Huang Theatre of the University of Hong Kong from today to November 15.

The opening animation "Nobody" reimagines a spin-off story from the classic epic "Journey to the West", following a band of nameless little monsters on an adventure that mirrors workplace setbacks, dilemmas in life, and the determination to pursue dreams.

Other selected films include "Laughing to Die" (2015), "Like Winds, Like Weeds" (2023), "The Midsummer's Voice" (2024), "Linka Linka" (2025), "Chongqing Hot Pot" (2016), "My Dear Liar" (2019), "A Long Shot" (2024), "Hi, Mom" (2021), "Escape from the 21st Century" (2024), and the animated features "Into the Mortal World" (2024) and "The Legend of Hei II" (2025).

Screenings of "Into the Mortal World" and "Hi, Mom" will be free of charge. Tickets of the other films priced at $75 are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone bookings, please call 3166 1288. For programme enquiries, please visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/fp/en/listing.html?id=96 or call 2734 2900.

The Chinese Mainland Film Panorama 2026 is one of the activities in the Chinese Culture Promotion Series. The LCSD has long been promoting Chinese history and culture through organising an array of programmes and activities to enable the public to learn more about the broad and profound Chinese culture. For more information, please visit www.ccpo.gov.hk/en.

Chinese Mainland Film Panorama 2026 opens tonight Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Chinese Mainland Film Panorama 2026 opens tonight Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases