Four hundred children, one giant panda and a girl who cannot finish her song. Panda-rama is the Hong Kong Dance Company's big family show of the summer, and it takes over the Grand Theatre at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre across two August weekends. It is also a milestone: the production marks 20 years of the company's Children & Youth Troupes, which is why so many of them are on stage at once. Here is how to book it — and the two rules that catch families out.
In This Guide
Why 400 young dancers matters
Most family shows that tour through Hong Kong arrive fully formed, with a cast flown in and flown out. Panda-rama is the opposite: it is built here, and it is built by the city's own children.
The production brings together more than 400 young members of the HKDance Children & Youth Troupes alongside the company's professional dancers. That is the whole point of the booking — 2026 marks the troupes' 20th anniversary, and this show is the celebration. Two decades of Saturday-morning classes, in other words, arriving on the biggest stage in Tsim Sha Tsui.
It also sits inside the International Arts Carnival 2026, the LCSD's annual summer festival of family programming, which fills July and August with more than 100 performances. If you are mapping out the season, our round-up of the best kid-friendly things to do in Hong Kong sets it against the rest of the school holidays, and the best dance performances in Hong Kong in 2026 puts it in context alongside the company's grown-up work.
What is Panda-rama about?
The story follows Meng Meng, a girl who dreams of a life in music but cannot find her inspiration. Reluctantly, she returns to the sanctuary her father built for neglected animals — the "forgotten creatures" of the title's world.
Under the guidance of Master Giant Panda, she slowly bonds with them. Then her father prepares to hand the shelter over to her, and Meng Meng is caught: the music career she wants, or the animals who now need her. The company describes it as a friendship "that transcends language", told through lively choreography and original songs.
It is, in short, a proper narrative dance musical rather than a variety showcase — which is what you would hope for from a 20th-anniversary production. Expect sand art too: Flow Sand Art Academy appears at the 8–9 August performances and ADAM Arts Creation Limited at the 15–16 August shows, so the two weekends are not quite identical.
The creative team
The show is led by HKDance artistic director Yang Yuntao, with concept, artistic coordination and choreography by Cai Fei. The script is by playwright Hui Chun-pong, Jim.
The music is the notable credit here: Yin Ng is music director and composer, with lyrics by Cheung Cho-kiu. Costume design comes from Bacchus Lee, sets from Angelica Fung and lighting from Billy Tang. Full credits sit on the Hong Kong Dance Company's official programme page.
Dates, showtimes & running time
This is a short run — six performances across two weekends, and nothing midweek. That scarcity is the single biggest reason to book early rather than drift towards the date.
| Date | Day | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 8 August 2026 | Saturday | 3:00pm |
| 8 August 2026 | Saturday | 7:45pm |
| 9 August 2026 | Sunday | 3:00pm |
| 15 August 2026 | Saturday | 3:00pm |
| 15 August 2026 | Saturday | 7:45pm |
| 16 August 2026 | Sunday | 3:00pm |
The programme runs about 2 hours including a 15-minute intermission. With a 7.45pm curtain, the evening shows finish close to 9.45pm — worth thinking about if you are bringing a five-year-old across the harbour on a school night's worth of energy. The 3pm matinees are the gentler option.
How much are tickets and how do you book?
Tickets are HK$480, HK$380, HK$280, HK$180 and HK$100 — a genuinely accessible bottom rung by Hong Kong standards. They are sold through URBTIX, the official ticketing system for the government's performance venues.
Book via the official URBTIX event page, the URBTIX app, or by phone on 3166 1288 (10am–8pm daily). Note that internet, app and telephone bookings carry a HK$9 service fee per ticket, which counter and self-service kiosk purchases do not.
Discounts worth knowing, all per the Carnival's official booking guide:
Ways to Pay Less
- Half-price concessions for full-time students, seniors aged 60 and above, people with disabilities plus one minder, and CSSA recipients. The student concession also covers children aged 6 and under.
- Group booking: 10% off for 4–9 full-price tickets, 15% for 10–19, 20% for 20 or more.
- Package booking: 10% off if you book 3–4 different Carnival programmes, 15% for 5 or more.
- Ocean Park crossover: up to 25% off — see below.
- One offer per purchase. Discounts do not stack, so work out which is best before you reach the counter.
The Family Package Trap
The Carnival advertises a 20% family package discount (two full-price tickets plus one student concession). It does not apply to Panda-rama — the offer is limited to a specific list of programmes, and this show is not on it. Several other Carnival titles are, so do not assume it carries across. Concessionary ticket holders must also produce proof of identity or age on admission, and it is one ticket per person regardless of age — babes in arms still need a seat.
The Ocean Park crossover deal
Here is the bit most listings bury. HKDance has a reciprocal promotion with Ocean Park that works in both directions, and if you were going to do both anyway it is free money.
Going to the show, want the park? From 1 July to 31 August 2026, showing a 2026 Panda-rama ticket at Ocean Park's ticketing counters gets you 18% off general admission. HKDance Prestige Members do better: 25% off admission, and 10% off an Ocean Park annual membership.
Been to the park, want the show? From 1 July to 16 August 2026, at URBTIX outlets: Ocean Park annual members get 25% off standard Panda-rama tickets, and holders of an Ocean Park admission ticket valid between 1 July and 31 August get 18% off.
Two catches. The HK$100 price zone is excluded from the discount, and these offers cannot be combined with any other promotion. You also need to be at a physical URBTIX outlet with your proof in hand — this is not an online code. If the pandas are the draw, our guide to Ocean Park's panda celebrations covers the real ones across the harbour.
Is Panda-rama suitable for toddlers?
This is where families get caught, and the official guidance genuinely does not line up.
The Carnival's stage programme listing gives Panda-rama an age recommendation of 3+. But the Carnival's own booking guide states plainly that "audience aged 3 or under will not be admitted" to stage programmes — with exactly one exception across the whole festival, and it is not this show.
Read together, those two rules leave three-year-olds in limbo: recommended by one page, barred by the other. We are not going to guess which wins at the door. If your child is three, ring URBTIX on 3166 1100 and confirm before you buy — a refused admission at the Grand Theatre on a Saturday afternoon is a bad way to spend HK$380. For four and up, no such ambiguity.
Panda-rama — Hong Kong Essentials
Note: HKDance does not publish a performance-language note for this production on its programme page, so we have not stated one. Confirm on the URBTIX listing if language matters to your party.
Getting to the Grand Theatre
The Hong Kong Cultural Centre (香港文化中心) sits on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront at 10 Salisbury Road, next to the Clock Tower and the Star Ferry pier. The Grand Theatre is its largest auditorium.
By MTR, the quickest route is East Tsim Sha Tsui Station (Tuen Ma Line), Exit J — about five minutes on foot past the museum complex. Tsim Sha Tsui Station (Tsuen Wan Line) Exit E or F is roughly 10 minutes through the underpass. From Hong Kong Island, the Star Ferry lands you almost at the door, which with children in tow is half an outing in itself. Venue details are on the LCSD Hong Kong Cultural Centre site.
A 3pm matinee leaves the whole evening free on the Kowloon waterfront — and the Museum of Art is literally next door if you want to stretch it into a full culture day. For a grown-up alternative on the same stage, Jesus Christ Superstar closes its Hong Kong season at the same theatre in early August, and our guide to the best musicals in Hong Kong covers what else is booking.
Before You Book
Buy only through URBTIX or the URBTIX app, not resellers. Latecomers are admitted only at the intermission or a suitable break — and the presenter can refuse admission entirely, which with a two-hour family show means a long wait. Performances are normally cancelled if Typhoon Signal No. 8 or above, a Black Rainstorm Warning or "extreme conditions" is in force three hours before curtain-up; check hkiac.gov.hk and call 2370 1044 afterwards about refunds. August in Hong Kong being what it is, this is not hypothetical.
Frequently Asked Questions
Six Shows, Two Weekends
Panda-rama runs for six performances only, and the 20th-anniversary billing means the troupes' families are booking too. Reserve through URBTIX — then let YumChaNow keep you ahead of the next thing worth taking the kids to.