Smiling pineapple bun and virtual friends found all over Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Space Museum has been transformed into a giant "Smiling Pineapple Bun," as part of a three week campaign by the Tourism Board to boost local tours.

"A smiley face on the 'Pineapple Bun' says GOOD morning to all of you!" The Space Museum said on Facebook this morning, hoping that the smile on the Museum's egg-shaped wall could bring positivity and happiness.

This time, the Tourism Board had teamed up with FriendsWithYou -- an art collaboration created by Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III in 2002 -- to promote the "Hong Kong Neighbourhoods - West Kowloon" programme.

Twelve gigantic inflatable pop-art characters can also be seen at Art Park, West Kowloon Cultural District for three weeks, starting from today (September 23) to October 14, including the most eye-catching character "Little Cloud", a 3-stories high installation which is longer than a bus.

Visitors can visit from 11am to 9.30pm everyday without reservation, and check the waiting time on the FriendsWithYou website.

The promotion aiming to boost local tours has also seen a number of the FriendsWithYou characters appear virtually at six different attractions from today, including West Kowloon Art Park, Xiqu Centre, Yau Ma Tei Tin Hau Temple, Temple Street Night Market and the Avenue of Stars in Tsim Sha Tsui.

They have already made their mark in a few of Hong Kong's best known landmarks. Some rode on trams and sailed on the Star Ferry, while others shopped for seasonal fruit in the Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market.

The partnership came as the board released figures today showing that around 10,000 visitors came to Hong Kong in August, indicating an increase of 143 percent compared to the record of last August.

Data also revealed that around 53,000 visitors came to the city from January to August this year. This is a decline of 98.5 percent compared to last year's record.

Apart from capturing these smiley characters, citizens can visit the "Science Cafe" at the Outpost, Salisbury Garden this Saturday (September 25), and join the Scientific Officer from the Hong Kong Observatory in sharing the science behind weather forecasts.
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