HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of China recently released new HK$100 banknotes to celebrate the famous ancient art form of Cantonese opera. The note depicts a princess in a Chinese wedding gown and lovers in a garden. A launch event was organised by the three banks at the Xiqu Centre in West Kowloon Centre, where Cantonese opera was performed by local artists.

HSBC’s note depicts young lovers in a garden. The Standard Chartered note shows the princess in a Chinese wedding gown with her new husband. BOCHK note shows a lady in traditional opera costume. These romantic themes were chosen as Cantonese opera is known for its love stories. HSBC also introduced an augmented reality filter using which people can take a selfie photo on their smartphone and convert it into a Cantonese Opera character.

UNESCO has listed Cantonese opera as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity in 2009. 2019 marks the 10th anniversary of this listing. The series was introduced in 2018. The new HK$1,000 banknote highlights the city as a smart international financial centre, while the HK$500 note issued in the Lunar New Year highlights natural scenery. New HK$50 notes will be based on the theme – “butterflies”, while Yam-cha – the tea and dim sum culture will be promoted through new HK$20 notes. Both these notes will be released in 2020.

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