Study Buddy (Challenger): Hong Kong balloon artist bursts Guinness World Record with 42-metre dragon sculpture

[2] “It was fulfilling to bring home a Western marker of success using the traditional Chinese symbol of a dragon,” says Pang, 36, of the work created to usher in the Year of the Dragon. “I wanted to show the world that Hong Kong has kept its cultural elements intact.”

[3] Pang began his career as a magician-for-hire. Back then, Pang only knew how to tie long balloons he called “hot dogs”. Since 2012, Pang has been honing his craft with teachers and fellow balloon sculptors across Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom. He’s also a two-time champion of the World Balloon Convention, winning in 2016 and 2018, and has a place in the Asia Book of Records, for “biggest balloon Christmas wreath”.

[4] But Pang admits that times have been tough, especially during the peak of Covid-19. “I had to resort to driving [a delivery van] just to make ends meet. It was hard not to question if balloon art was something the world needed.” Then he remembered the purpose of his life’s work: to bring magic to the world. At that moment, Pang set his sights on breaking a new balloon world record.

[5] It took multiple sets of hands to pull off his latest achievement. Including his Taiwanese mentor Ho Kunlung in the project – who is co-credited with Pang by Guinness – was Pang’s way of paying homage to his years of guidance. Pang says it made him happier than breaking the record itself. Pang also received help from a team of 60, including artist Qu Xusheng and volunteers from City University’s “Balloon Art Club” – which Pang helped found in 2022 – as well as secondary school students from The Methodist Lee Wai Lee College.

[6] Besides mustering enough people to take part in the project, designing such a large balloon sculpture posed a number of challenges, particularly in achieving the right proportions. Pang says he used AI and projector screens to draft his design. “The hardest part of the project was designing a dragon that looked majestic, but still approachable,” he says. “I had to get a balloon inside another see-through one to nail that glint in its eyes.”

[7] Pang says he barely slept four hours over the three-and-a-half days it took him and his team to prepare for the sculpture’s grand reveal. But balloon creations don’t last forever and the dragon will begin to deflate after about two weeks, he says. “Balloon sculptures are like fresh flowers. They bloom, then they wilt and shrink over time.” Despite the fleeting nature of his medium, Pang feels that he has succeeded in sharing a special moment with the public.
Source: South China Morning Post, January 31

1. Paragraph 1 describes …
A. the reason why an artist decided to create a giant balloon sculpture.
B. how an artist put together a large-scale dragon sculpture.
C. an artist’s feat of creating a record-breaking dragon sculpture out of balloons.
D. the challenges an artist had to overcome to build a giant balloon sculpture.

2. What does the “Western marker of success” in paragraph 2 refer to?
___________________________________________________

3. What evidence in paragraph 3 suggests that Pang is highly skilled in balloon sculpting?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. Find a phrase in paragraph 4 that means “having just enough money to cover one’s basic living expenses”.
____________________________

5. What challenges did Pang face during the Covid-19 pandemic according to paragraph 4?______________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Who do the “multiple sets of hands” in paragraph 5 refer to?
A. an individual who guided Pang in his craft
B. students from a secondary school
C. volunteers from a local university’s art club
D. all of the above

7. List the different challenges Pang had to overcome in paragraph 6. (3 marks)
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Based on your understanding of paragraph 6, why was it important for Pang to “nail that glint in its eyes?”
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. Why does paragraph 7 describe the dragon balloon sculpture as “fleeting”?
______________________________________________________________________________________________________

1. C
2. Guinness World Record
3. He is a two-time champion of the World Balloon Convention, winning in 2016 and 2018, and has a place in the Asia Book of Records, for “biggest balloon Christmas wreath”.
4. make ends meet
5. He faced financial difficulties and even had to take a job driving a delivery van to cover his basic needs. (accept all similar answers)
6. D
7. He had to get enough people to take part in the project, achieve the right proportions for the dragon sculpture and design it such that it looked majestic, but still approachable.
8. so that the dragon sculpture appears more realistic and lifelike (accept all reasonable answers)
9. It is because the sculpture begins to deflate after about two weeks.