Victoria Park: MTR Causeway Bay Station Exit E, walk along Great George Street to the park; or MTR Tin Hau Station Exit A2, turn left at exit and enter the park from Hing Fat Street.
Tropical Cyclone signal and rainstorm
warning guidelines
At 6 pm on the day of the event, the Hong Kong Observatory still issue the Tropical Cyclone signal warning and
rainstorm warning arrangement :
WEATHER
Yellow / Red rainstorm warning signal Event as usual
Tropical Cyclone WARNING 1 AND 3 Event as usual
Black rainstorm warning signal Event cancel
8 or above tropical cyclone warning Event cancel
Note:
● the event is held as usual under
the circumstances that
the black rainstorm warning / No 8 signal
or above tropical cyclone warning is either
removed before 6 pm on the day.
● The final decision is subject to
the discretion of the organizer.
When the people of Tai Hang village miraculously stopped
a plague with a fire dragon dance
in the 19th century,
they inadvertently launched a tradition
that has since become part of China's official intangible cultural heritage.
Tai Hang may no longer be a village, but its locals still
recreate the fiery ancient ritual today
with a whopping 300 performers,
72,000 incense sticks and a 67-metre dragon.
The head of this beast alone weighs 48kg,
so it’s not a creature to be taken lightly!
The commemorative performance wends its way in fire,
smoke and festive fury through the backstreets of
Tai Hang over three moon-fuelled days.
Four traditional activities from Hong Kong successfully inscribed onto
the national list of intangible cultural heritage
**********************************************************
The Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Tsang Tak-sing, said today (June 3) that he was pleased to see four local intangible cultural heritage items, the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival, the Tai O dragon boat water parade, the Tai Hang fire dragon dance and the Yu Lan Ghost Festival of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow community, had been successfully inscribed onto the third national list of intangible cultural heritage. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will liaise closely with the bearer organisations to take forward measures for preserving, promoting and transmitting these parts of Hong Kong's cultural heritage.
In September 2009, the HKSAR Government submitted an application for these four items to be inscribed onto the third national list of intangible cultural heritage. And the four items fall within the category of "social practices, rituals and festive events" set out in the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.
Mr Tsang Tak-sing said, "These four items all have unique characteristics and cultural value. In spite of modernisation and urbanisation, they have been passed on from generation to generation and helped maintain the bonds of people in local communities, which has made the events particularly valuable. The cultural significance of these four items is recognised by their being inscribed onto the third national list of intangible cultural heritage. We will continue our commitment to preserving and promoting local heritage and will also encourage the participation of the community in supporting the continuation and development of Hong Kong's traditional culture."
Mr Tsang also said, "The HKSAR Government is now conducting a territory-wide survey of intangible cultural heritage in Hong Kong that is expected to complete in 2012. The first inventory of Hong Kong's intangible cultural heritage will be compiled using data collected through the survey. This will help formulate comprehensive safeguarding measures for local intangible cultural heritage."
Details of the four items successfully inscribed onto the third national list of intangible cultural heritage are as follows:
(1) Cheung Chau Jiao Festival
The activity has been practised for more than 100 years. Cheung Chau was devastated by a plague in the late Qing dynasty. Local residents set up a sacrificial altar in front of Pak Tai Temple to pray to the god Pak Tai to drive off evil spirits. The residents even paraded deity statues through the village lanes. The plague ceased after performance of the ritual. Since then, residents on Cheung Chau have organised a Jiao Festival every year to express thanks to the god for blessing and protecting them. With residents' participation every year, the ritual has been passed down through the generations.
(2) Tai O dragon boat water parade
During the annual Dragon Boat Festival, three fishermen's associations, Pa Teng, Sin Yu Heung and Hap Sim Tong, organise a religious activity known as the dragon boat water parade. On the morning before the festival, members of the associations row their dragon boats to visit four temples in Tai O, where they receive statues of Yeung Hou, Tin Hau, Kwan Tei and Hung Shing. They carry the deity statues back to their associations' hall for worship. On the day of the festival, the deity statues are put on sacred sampans towed by the associations' dragon boats to parade through Tai O's waters. The deity statues are returned to the respective temples after the ritual. This unique religious activity has been preserved for more than a century.
(3) Tai Hang fire dragon dance
The event has been held for more than 100 years. Tai Hang was originally a Hakka village. Legend has it that a plague broke out there in 1880, and to ward off the disease the villagers planted joss sticks in a dragon-shaped form. On the evening of the 14th, 15th and 16th of the eighth lunar month, the villagers paraded the fire dragon through the village and let off firecrackers. The plague ended after the event. From then on, the villagers have performed a three-day fire dragon dance every year to bless themselves.
(4) Yu Lan Ghost Festival of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow community
There are about 1.2 million people originating from Chiu Chow in Hong Kong who actively carry on their traditions. During the ghost festival, which lasts for a month every year, the Chiu Chow people in Hong Kong organise the Yu Lan Festival that starts from the first day of the seventh lunar month and continues until the end of that month. Having been held for more than 100 years, the festival is to offer sacrifices to ancestors and the wandering ghosts in the netherworld. The main activities include burning incense and joss papers, performing live Chinese operas and dramas for ghosts, distributing auspicious rice and auctioning auspicious objects.
Press Releases
Four local ICH items successfully inscribed onto national list of intangible cultural heritage
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Four intangible cultural heritage (ICH) items from Hong Kong have been successfully inscribed onto the fourth national list of ICH. They are the Hang Hau Hakka Unicorn Dance, Wong Tai Sin Belief and Customs, Quanzhen Temples Taoist Ritual Music and the Arts of the Guqin. The list was announced by the State Council earlier.
At the invitation of the Ministry of Culture in September 2013 on application for inscription onto the national list of ICH, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government submitted the application prior to the deadline in November last year after consulting the views of the experts of the ICH Advisory Committee.
The four successfully inscribed items are in the categories of "performing arts", "social practices, rituals and festive events" and "traditional craftsmanship" defined by the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage promulgated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. With outstanding historical and cultural value, these four items are representative of their kind.
Details of the four items are as follows:
(1) Hang Hau Hakka Unicorn Dance
The activity has been practised for more than 200 years. The Hakka people believe the Chinese unicorn, the qilin, is an auspicious animal that can ward off evil and bring good luck. So, on all celebratory occasions such as Chinese New Year, weddings, birthday parties, the inauguration of an ancestral hall, moving into a new home, welcoming guests, the Jiao festival and birthdays of deities, there would invariably be a unicorn dance. Since the Hakka people brought the unicorn dance, fusing local traditional music and martial arts, with them to Hong Kong, the unicorn dance has developed its own styles and sequence of movements.
(2) Wong Tai Sin Belief and Customs
The folk religion of Wong Tai Sin originated in the Jinhua area of Zhejiang Province and was introduced into the Lingnan region at the turn of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Local Wong Tai Sin belief and customs originated in 1915. In 1921, Sik Sik Yuen was established to manage the Wong Tai Sin Temple. After a century of inheritance, nowadays the folk religion of Wong Tai Sin has developed in conjunction with charitable features and has been widely circulated in Hong Kong and overseas Chinese communities. Sik Sik Yuen has founded various social services for the local community, achieving Wong Tai Sin's "grant every wish" spirit.
(3) Quanzhen Temples Taoist Ritual Music
Taoist ritual music consists of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity School) and Quanzhen (Complete Perfection School) traditions. The Quanzhen Temples Taoist Ritual Music has been developed in Hong Kong for many years. The Taoist music inherited by Fung Ying Seen Koon is considered one of the most typical representatives of the Quanzhen temples tradition in Hong Kong. After decades of inheritance in Hong Kong, the liturgical music of Fung Ying Seen Koon has evolved into a kind of Taoist music with local characteristics under the influence of Cantonese opera and its singing style, Cantonese tunes, and other religious music genres such as Confucian and Buddhist music.
(4) The Arts of the Guqin
The Arts of the Guqin include the techniques for making the qin (a seven-stringed plucked instrument). Qin making is a craft that starts with chopping and trimming a piece of wood, and involves nine steps, namely seeking, chopping, hollowing, fitting, assembling, cement priming, sanding, lacquering and stringing, until it reaches the final stage of becoming an instrument. Local craftsmanship of qin making can be traced back to Xu Wenjing, a master qin player of the Zhejiang school (pai). He taught the craft to Choi Chang-sau, whose family operated the Choi Fook Kee musical instrument shop, in the 1950s. Choi Chang-sau started the Qin Making Class, teaching the craft publicly to local qin players so that it can be perpetuated in Hong Kong.
The State Council announced three batches totalling 1 219 items inscribed onto the national list of ICH in 2006, 2008 and 2011. The governments of Guangdong, the HKSAR and the Macau Special Administrative Region jointly applied and succeeded in inscribing Cantonese opera and traditional herbal teas onto the national list of ICH. In 2011, four local ICH items, the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival, the Tai O dragon boat water parade, the Tai Hang fire dragon dance and the Yu Lan Ghost Festival of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow community, were successfully inscribed onto the third national list of ICH.
The HKSAR Government will continue its commitment to preserving and promoting local ICH and will also encourage the participation of the community in supporting the transmission and development of Hong Kong's traditional culture.
Two local ICH items successfully inscribed onto National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage
********************************************************************************
Two intangible cultural heritage (ICH) items from Hong Kong, the Tin Hau Festival in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong cheongsam making technique, have been successfully inscribed onto the Fifth National List of ICH announced by the State Council earlier.
At the invitation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People's Republic of China in June 2019 to apply for inscription onto the National List of ICH, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government submitted the application after consulting the views of the experts of the ICH Advisory Committee.
The two successfully inscribed items are in the categories of "social practices, rituals and festive events" and "traditional craftsmanship" defined by the Convention for the Safeguarding of the ICH promulgated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. With outstanding historical and cultural value, these two items are representative of their kind. Both items were also inscribed onto the First ICH Inventory of Hong Kong and the Representative List of the ICH of Hong Kong in 2014 and 2017 respectively.
Details of the two items are as follows:
(1) Tin Hau Festival in Hong Kong
The Tin Hau belief has a long history in Hong Kong. It is believed that the Tin Hau Temple located in Joss House Bay, Sai Kung, was built in the Southern Song dynasty. Every year, on the 23rd day of the third lunar month, or on other designated dates, the birthday of Tin Hau is celebrated in different scales in various districts. Some local organisations stage Cantonese opera performances to express gratitude to Tin Hau, and organise the fa pau lots drawing ceremony. Some may also hold parades along waterways or on land.
(2) Hong Kong cheongsam making technique
The origin of the cheongsam dates back to decades ago and it became popular during the early Republican period. After World War II, many tailors moved from Shanghai to Hong Kong. As a consequence, the craftsmanship of the Hong Kong cheongsam was enriched and Western sewing skills were taken up, resulting in the uniqueness of the Hong Kong cheongsam making technique. Once everyday attire for Hong Kong women, the elegant dress can these days be seen at special occasions. The men's cheongsam is a symbol of the seniority of clan elders in the New Territories, and carries important social significance. The men's cheongsam was recognised as formal wear for attending important occasions such as the spring and autumn ancestral worship of clans and other large community celebrations including the Jiao Festival.
The State Council announced four batches totalling 1 372 items inscribed onto the National List of ICH in 2006, 2008, 2011 and 2014. The governments of Guangdong, the HKSAR and the Macao Special Administrative Region jointly applied and succeeded in inscribing Cantonese opera and herbal tea onto the First National List of ICH. In 2011, four local ICH items, namely the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival, the Tai O dragon boat water parade, the Tai Hang fire dragon dance and the Yu Lan Festival of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow community, were successfully inscribed onto the Third National List of ICH. In 2014, four local ICH items, namely the Hakka unicorn dance in Hang Hau in Sai Kung, the Wong Tai Sin belief and customs, the Quanzhen Temples Taoist ritual music and the arts of the guqin, were successfully inscribed onto the Fourth National List of ICH.
The Government will continue its commitment to preserving and promoting local ICH and will also encourage the participation of the community in supporting the transmission and development of Hong Kong's traditional culture.
長洲太平清醮
Cheung Chau Jiao Festival
大澳端午龍舟遊涌
Tai O dragon boat water parade
大坑舞火龍
Tai Hang fire dragon dance
香港潮人盂蘭勝會
Yu Lan Ghost Festival of the
Hong Kong Chiu Chow community
Hong Kong ICH item selected as one of the Remarkable Examples of Good Practice ***********************************************************************************
for Safeguarding the National ICH Items (with photos) The Mid-Autumn Festival - the Tai Hang fire dragon dance, a local intangible cultural heritage (ICH) item, has been selected as one of the Remarkable Examples of Good Practice for Safeguarding the National ICH Items by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in recognition of the efforts of various sectors in Hong Kong in safeguarding this ICH item.
The ministry launched the selection of the Remarkable Examples of good safeguarding practice by calling for nominations of the qualified ICH items from across the country in March this year. The ministry selected the outstanding items based on criteria such as whether the safeguarding work complied with the Convention for the Safeguarding of the ICH adopted by UNESCO, respected the leading role of the bearers, and formulated and implemented targeted safeguarding measures according to the actual situations of the ICH items.
Among the 347 nominated items, the Mid-Autumn Festival - the Tai Hang fire dragon dance has been awarded as one of the 50 items showcasing good safeguarding practice. The selected items have not only received high commendation from the ministry for the safeguarding work carried out in the regions, but also serve as role models for other ICH items of the same category.
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has long been maintaining close contact with the related bearers and bearer organisation. A variety of public education activities have also been held regularly by the ICH Office under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, such as fire dragon crafting workshops, exhibitions and talks, allowing the bearers to introduce to members of the public the history of the Tai Hang fire dragon dance and its crafting techniques. With support from different sectors of the community, the Tai Hang fire dragon dance has successfully transformed from a district-based event into one of the most iconic festive events in Hong Kong.
The Tai Hang fire dragon dance has been held for more than 100 years. Tai Hang was originally a Hakka village which reportedly once suffered from plague. Since the epidemic, villagers in Tai Hang have performed a three-day fire dragon dance to ask for blessings during the Mid-Autumn Festival in the eighth lunar month every year.
With the founding of the Tai Hang Residents' Welfare Association, a successor system was established to pass on the knowledge and skills required for the fire dragon dance to the next generation systematically. The Tai Hang fire dragon dance was inscribed onto the third national list of ICH in 2011.
For more information on local ICH and related activities, please visit the ICH Office's website at www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/ICHO/.
The Mid-Autumn Festival - the Tai Hang fire dragon dance has been selected
as one of the Remarkable Examples of Good Practice for Safeguarding
the National Intangible Cultural Heritage Items by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Photo shows the Tai Hang fire dragon dance.
The Mid-Autumn Festival - the Tai Hang fire dragon dance has been selected as
one of the Remarkable Examples of Good Practice for Safeguarding
the National Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Items
by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Photo shows participants learning from an ICH bearer how to craft a fire dragon in a workshop held by the ICH Office.
陳德輝先生MH 
/紅色
暴雨警告信號
活動如常
及3號
熱帶氣旋警告
活動如常
活動取消
或以上熱帶氣旋警告
