Festivals, Hong Kong

Lunar new year fair is well known and become a very important event every year. The largest one is in Victoria Park and it is said that more than 100,000 sorties of people will visit there at lunar new year's eve. Tips to 1st comer: bring water bottle and camera, assisgn a meeting point when lost and dress comfortable---you may have to remain in the crowd for 4 hours! The commodities show in the fair include flowers, toys and all kind of daily household goods.

The flower show had both retailing section and exhibition section. In exhibition section plants are used to create models and features that is quite eye catching and draws many photographer every year.

Interesting event normally held during March every year. Please check with Hong Kong government website to confirm the time and place. It will be normally held either in Victoria Park or Shatin Central Park.

This is the 'Wishing Tree' in Lam Tsuen, Tai Po. If you want your wishes to come true, be careful to follow the procedures.
1. Get the gadget (Po Dip) which available from the hawkers. It is an orange tied with a red thread and papers.
2. Write your wish on the paper of Po Dip
3. Pray to the goddess and burn the inscense sticks (The hawkers there will teach you how to do so. Of course you need to pay for the inscense sticks!)
4. Throw the Po Dip and make it hang on the tree top. The higher it is, the better chance of having your wish come true. You have unlimited trials for it.

Believe it or not, you've already had lots of fun!!!

Before the fire dragon dance, the "kai fongs" would pray and made there wishes in front of the goddess with incense sticks. They then lighted the incense sticks and insert onto the body of the fire dragon

The Fire Dragon was 35metre in length, with a head weighs 35kg and a tail weighs 22kg. A team of around 50 people would be involved. Normally teeagers would be recruited because it was thought that teenagers would bring fortune and luck to fight agaist disease

Originating in 1880's, There was an outbreak of infectious disease in a village called "Tai Hang" (somewhere in Causeway Bay nowadays). After the praying to their goddess and the Fire Dragon Dance by the teeagers, the disease was eventually gone. Therefore the villagers continued this custom every year as a vote of thanks to the goddess. Normally, it is held during the mid autuman festival. However, this year was held early because the "Kai Fong" (neighbours) there believe that will bring good wish to against SARS

I was lucky enough to be in Hong Kong at the same time as the Hong Kong International Dragonboat Festival. This is a race on the International Dragonboat Circuit and is popular with all the Asian and Oceanic countries to visit.

I was particularly in terested in this race since I paddle for a Dragonboat Team in Sydney and have been entertaining notiion of doing the International racing circuit for some time!

For the un-initiated Dragonboats are like long canoes, with 20 paddlers + a steersperson (called a sweep) and a drummer. Racing is usually over 500m and paddlers can usually get times just over 2 minutes.

The racing in Hong Kong was made intersting by strong winds and rain squalls from the Typhoon causing havoc on the start line and resulting in one quite spectacular capsise.

If you are lucky enough to be in Hong Kong for the festival make sure that you catch the races, they are an exciting day out and well worth the trip North to the New Territories where the races were held (the year I went).

Note you may have to get tickets, these were free at the Hong Kong Tourist Bureau in the CBD.