SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
There needs to be a future in which cities provide opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more.
Over the years, Lingnan students and scholars have emphasised the need to build a sustainable society and community by learning activities and research addressing key issues concerning quality of life. We also offer courses and postgraduate programmes that directly answer to the requirements and elements of a sustainable, smart city.
11
SUSTAINABLE CITIES
AND COMMUNITIES
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Lingnan University is dedicated to promoting Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities by actively preserving and enhancing local cultural heritage. Through a variety of research projects, arts events, and community engagement initiatives, Lingnan fosters a deeper understanding of local history and cultural identity. The university's commitment to arts and heritage enriches the cultural fabric of the community, ensuring that future generations can appreciate and celebrate their rich cultural legacy.
a) The Chamber of Young Snow Art Exhibition Halls
The Chamber of Young Snow Art Exhibition Hall (CYS Hall) serves as a vibrant cultural and educational hub that promotes traditional Chinese art, cross-cultural understanding, and community engagement, aligning closely with SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Open to the public with free admission by advance booking, the Hall offers diverse programmes designed to make cultural heritage accessible to all. These include guided tours, art workshops, academic lectures, and training programmes that encourage lifelong learning and appreciation of cultural diversity. Through partnerships with local NGOs, CYS Hall actively engages people from different ethnic and social backgrounds, fostering inclusion and intercultural dialogue. Its docent and young curator training initiatives equip students and community members with the knowledge and skills to contribute to sustainable cultural development. In addition, CYS Hall produces publications and exhibition materials that extend its educational mission, enhancing public awareness of art, heritage, and preservation within a sustainable urban context.
b) Lingnan Arts Festival
The university contributes to local arts through a wide range of performance and arts events, hosting more than 30 each year. During these events, the university provides free public access to the arts, shows, and exhibitions on Lingnan's campus, such as at the Lingnan Leung Fong Oi Wan Art Gallery. In addition to ad-hoc events, the university has many ongoing programs that contribute to local arts.
Since 2011, the Lingnan Arts Festival has embodied the spirit of liberal arts. By inviting local artists to showcase their work on the Lingnan campus, the festival introduces various art forms to enrich the cultural well-being of students, alumni, staff, and the general public. In 2021, on its 10th anniversary, the festival was transformed into a biennial event and renamed the Lingnan Arts Biennale. Since 2011, the Lingnan Arts Biennale has been an annual celebration that embodies the spirit of liberal arts.
c) Wong Bing Lai Music and Performing Arts Unit
Established in 2017, the Wong Bing Lai Music and Performing Arts Unit (WBLMP) started to coordinate and expand both curricular and co-curricular music activities for the Lingnan community. Strengthening the liberal arts vision of Lingnan, WBLMP explores interdisciplinary programmes on music and performing arts. WBLMP leads a range of amazing performances at Lingnan, such as the end-of-term performance, timeless Concert, Link Sound Sinfonia project, and music recording with famous musicians.
Highlights of 2024/25
The Wong Bing Lai Music and Performing Arts Unit promoted creativity, wellbeing, and cross-regional exchange through arts-based learning and community engagement. Under Fostering Arts and Wellbeing, students collaborated with NGOs and service-learning partners in projects such as the Forest Healing Music Concert, theatre works on mental health, and the ÉLAN Eartheatre Sharing Session on nature and art. Strengthening ties in the Greater Bay Area, the Unit partnered with BNBU Zhuhai on Transcultural and Translingual Dialogues for Arts and Wellbeing and co-organised seminars on Chinese music and cultural heritage. Embracing innovation, a new Minor in Creative Technologies in Music and Community and the course CLA9032 Harmonising Data: GenAI Music Creation were launched to integrate music, technology, and public engagement.
Cultural Exchange through Jazz: YUT Quartet Performance (2024)
As part of Performances@Lingnan 2024–2025, the YUT Quartet Jazz Performance celebrated cultural diversity and cross-cultural dialogue, contributing to SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) by fostering inclusive and vibrant cultural experiences. The event featured Hong Kong-born jazz singer and composer Heidi Li, together with Italian musicians Manuel Magrini, Antonio Fusco, and Massimiliano Rolff, blending elements of Cantonese opera with jazz improvisation. By integrating Chinese and Italian musical traditions, the performance promoted intercultural understanding and community connection, enriching Lingnan’s campus life and enhancing the cultural vitality of the broader community.
The university has a strong commitment to record and preserve intangible cultural heritage.
To preserve national cultural heritage:
a) Chinese Art Exhibition – Sensing Things
Themed Sensing Things, the exhibition showcases a private collection on loan from Chamber of Young Snow, ranging from Song dynasty ceramics to 20th century Chinese paintings. It explores how artists and connoisseurs expressed their emotional connection with “things” through creation and play with objects. The exhibition is divided into two parts: “The Joy of Landscape” and “The Way of Playing with Objects.” “The Joy of Landscape” will invite visitors to think about how artists expressed their sensibilities and thoughts in their paintings of the landscape, bird-and-flower, gardens, and figures. Largely through ceramics, “The Way of Playing with Objects” looks at both past and present from the perspective of playing with objects. This exhibition hopes to let visitors appreciate the charm of Chinese art through sensing things, reflecting on their feelings and understanding of the times, and finding their own way of expression.
b) Chinese New Year Carnival
Chinese New Year is one of the most important festivals in Chinese communities. The Chinese New Year Carnival co-organised by the Office of Student Affairs and Office of Global Education, held in February every year, attracts more than 500 students and staff to celebrate the Chinese New Year together. Students especially non-local students can experience the Chinese culture by watching performances and making traditional Chinese Handicrafts. This year’s programme features some stunning performances from our local and non-local students, as well as student-run cultural booths showcasing not only the customs of Chinese New Year but also celebration activities from all around the world.
c) Promoting and Inheriting Chinese Culture: Lingnan Art – A Legacy of Guangdong and Hong Kong (2024)
As part of the “LingArt” Programme on the Promotion and Inheritance of Chinese Culture, the exhibition “Lingnan Art: A Legacy of Guangdong and Hong Kong – Ho Wing cheong Exhibition” was held at the Leung Fong Oi Wan Art Gallery from 8 to 15 October 2024. The event celebrated the rich heritage of the Lingnan School of Painting, renowned for fusing traditional Chinese ink art with Western techniques and modern expression. Showcasing the works of Ho Wing cheong, a third generation inheritor of the Lingnan tradition, the exhibition fostered appreciation for Chinese culture and artistic innovation. Supported by the Lingnan Education Organization (LEO), the event engaged students, faculty, and the wider community in meaningful cultural exchange, strengthening Lingnan University’s role in preserving and promoting Chinese artistic heritage.
To preserve local cultural heritage:
d) Compiling local records and creating teaching kit of culture and history in Kong Kong
The Hong Kong and South China Historical Research Programme (HKSCHRP), created by the History Department of Lingnan University, stands at the forefront of research into Hong Kong’s local history. The research of Professor Lau Chi-pang had considerable impact on local communities and on Hong Kong’s primary and secondary education systems, and has been used as the basis for a variety of lectures, publications, online resources, and collaborative projects with governmental cultural bodies to promote the community’s engagement with their local history and heritage. The research impacted primary and secondary education, the public understanding of Hong Kong’s history, and regional collaboration.
e) Hong Kong culture to celebrate Lantern Festival
To celebrate the Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival, the Office of Student Affairs, in collaboration with the Office of Global Education, organized the "Lantern Festival Gathering," bringing together Lingnan students from various programs and nationalities.
Heritage of displaced communities:
Lingnan University is committed to preserving and promoting the heritage of displaced communities through a variety of community projects. These initiatives not only foster cultural understanding but also empower marginalized groups by highlighting their unique histories and traditions. By engaging with local communities, Lingnan aims to create inclusive spaces that honor their heritage and contribute to social cohesion.
Asia-Pacific Institute of Ageing Studies
Office of Service-Learning
