HONG KONG – The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation has launched its 2026 agenda in Guangzhou, where officials from the regional forum’s 21 member economies are gathering for the latest high-level officials’ meeting and related sessions.

From Feb 1 to 10, about 60 meetings, workshops, symposia and committee sessions will take place in Guangzhou. The events cover the full breadth of APEC’s policy priorities – from anti-corruption and digital transformation, to services competitiveness, ocean sustainability, investment, standards and customs modernization.

As host of the 2026 APEC meetings, China has set the theme “Building an Asia-Pacific Community to Prosper Together”, underscoring its commitment to deepening regional integration and accelerating cooperation across the world’s most dynamic economic region.

Top-notch crypto event

Following its sold-out debut in 2025, Asia’s leading Web3 conference, Consensus Hong Kong, will return to the international financial center on Tuesday.

Organized by the crypto-focused media platform CoinDesk, the three-day conference will feature scores of side events and bring together high-caliber speakers, including government officials, regulators and global leaders across digital currency, finance, and technology.

The forum aims to provide a platform to foster cross-border innovation while capturing the next wave of adoption, deal-making and breakthroughs in crypto, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technology.

Rebirth of Tai Kwun

On Friday night, the century-old Tai Kwun Parade Ground will be reborn amid a blaze of digital glitter as its signature projection-mapped show “InnerGlow & Searchlight 2026” flicks on.

The dreamscape will unfurl nightly through Feb 22, cycling every 30 minutes from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm, with only a pause on Feb 16 – the Chinese New Year’s Eve.

This year’s program will feature the Collective, one of Hong Kong’s most daring cross-disciplined creative group, and their iconic kaleidoscopic neon piece “Discotheque Dreams,” promised to transport audiences into a vivid, swirling wonderland of Hong Kong’s disco golden age.

To break the fourth wall between spectators and the art, sensor-embedded dance pads will be scattered across the square, with visitors’ every step triggering real-time visual cascades, knitting their presence into the fabric of the light and the night.

Macao CNY fest

For one radiant week, from Feb 10 to Feb 17, the Tap Seac Square will be transformed into the epicenter of Macao’s festivities, as the Chinese New Year Market of 2026 opens for business.

Each day from noon until the midnight hour — stretching into 1 am on the Chinese New Year’s Eve, the square will be buzzing with joy.

Sixteen stalls will proffer delicately wrapped tokens of luck and fortune. Six more will brim with festive flora, while the comforting aroma of delicacies from four other vendors will fill the winter air with warmth and flavor.

Also, the space will hum with the vibrant clamor of a string of live cultural performances. As a sure-to-impress backdrop, magnificent floral sculptures and glowing lantern displays will illuminate the night.