When it comes to celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, no event is more grand than the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance. Listed as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage, this cherished tradition draws massive crowds of Hongkongers and visitors every year, all for a glimpse of this blazing spectacle. Read on to find out when, where, and what is happening this year.
What is the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance?
With more than 140 years of history, the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance is an annual tradition commemorating the triumph over a plague that once broke out in Tai Hang in 1880. This ritual sees a magnificent dragon – spanning 67 metres and meticulously crafted using more than 10,000 burning incense sticks – paraded through the streets of Tai Hang by around 300 performers. In 2011, the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance was inscribed onto the third national list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
When is the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance happening?
The dance will take place from September 16 to 18, from 8.15pm to 10.30pm. Special traffic arrangements will be in place to facilitate the event, so be sure to make note of any road closures, traffic diversions, and the suspension of parking spaces.
Where will the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance take place?
Before the parade begins, officiating guests will perform rituals at the Lin Fa Kung Temple in Tai Hang to 'bring the dragon alive'. The fire dragon is then moved to its starting point on Ormsby Street. Here, dragon dancers burn incense and place it on the dragon, paying their respects. Officiating guests then perform the ceremony of hanging red hairpins and dotting the eyes of the Fire Dragon, officially marking the start of the event.
Led by two dragon balls and accompanied by the rhythmic beat of drums and gongs, the fire dragon parades around the streets of Tai Hang in a clockwise direction through Warren Street, Brown Street, Ormsby Street, Wun Sha Street, Sun Chun Street, King Street, Jones Street, Lai Yin Street, and finally, School Street.
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