ORIENT IN MANCHESTER.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 17009, 16 April 1926, Page 4

ORIENT IN MANCHESTER.

GARAGE BECOMES CHINESE TEMPLE, MANCHESTER, Feb. 20.—There is in Manchester a Chinese temple palace which has been converted from a garageIt is situated in Victoria Park, and contains objects of art, some of which are 4000 years old. The whole ia tho collection of Mr. llilditdi, a Manchester man, who has in his possession no fewer than 60,000 objects of Oriental art. It is Mr. Hilditehs' plan that Manchester people and his fellow-countrymen also should have an. opportunity of seeing displayed in Chinese fashion the work of artists who wrought in dim centuries of the past to serve the great religions of the East. At the formal opening by Viscount ( Leverliulme, a guide in Chineso robes conducted visitors to their seats in the richly-incensed air, and through the dimness one could see tho Chinese gods Kwah Yu the Benign, and Kwan Yin the Merciful, guarded by tho carven dogs of Foil squatted in tho midst of tho vast array of objects of art. A little service of mingled speeches and prayers, punctuated by beatings oil gong and drums, preceded the formal opening, after which, ae the lights were raised, Mr. Hilditeh threw rice over the two gods, and, after a benedictory speech, over tho small congregation, declaring that the rice was 500 years old. Tapestries of a wonderful colour, panels of dull gold, dragons on magical mate, pictured princesses and ligures of fame in old China, charts depicting horrible tortures meted out to tho Oriental damned, and a Chinese princess’s loveletters of (centuries ago were only a few of the objects in this varied collecHijii.