City Happenings

The activity has been practised for more than 100 years. Legends say that Cheung Chau was devastated by a plague in the late Qing dynasty. To dispel the disaster, Huizhou and Chiu Chow natives invited accomplished monks and Taoist priests and set up a sacrificial altar in front of Pak Tai Temple to pray to deities, repent and to comfort departed souls from the land and the sea. The residents also paraded deity statues along village lanes. The plague did cease after the ritual. Since then, residents on Cheung Chau have been organising the annual Jiao Festival to express gratitude to Pak Tai for blessing the area with peace. For more than a century, Cheung Chau residents never stopped organising the annual Jiao Festival to dispel disaster and pray for blessings for peace and safety. With residents' participation every year, the ritual has been passed down through the generations. Cheung Chau Bun Festival was inscribed onto the third national list of ICH in 2011.

Each Mid-Autumn, Tai Hang comes alive as the iconic Fire Dragon Dance parades through the streets. Tracing its roots to the 19th century, when residents united to perform the ritual dance against a plague, this tradition lives on through the community’s unwavering spirit. A recognised National Intangible Cultural Heritage, the 67-metre fire dragon made of incense sticks will be led by 300 performers, continuing to draw crowds to witness this neighbourhood’s cherished, time-honoured custom in Hong Kong.