Hong Kong Celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival with the Dazzling Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance

HONG KONG, CHINA – Media OutReach – 18
September,2018 – The Mid-Autumn Festival, one of Hong Kong’s most celebrated
festivals, is fast approaching on 24 September (the 15^th day of the
8^th month on the Chinese Lunar Calendar). Said to have evolved from
a moon-worshipping ceremony ahead of the autumn harvest, the festival provides
a peek inside Hong Kong’s long-held traditions.

Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance




(23 — 25 September 2018)

Paying tribute to the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations of old, Tai Hang residents
gather to take part in the three-day Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance, which was inscribed on
China’s National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011.

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Today, the experience promises an explosion of drums, gongs and incense,
as nearly 300 trained participants carry a 67-metre dragon covered in glowing
joss sticks through the streets. The first thing you’ll notice as the dragon
flies by is its 70-kilogramme
head, made of sheet metal, straw and rattan, with two electric torches for eyes
— that’s a face you’ll never forget!

Mooncakes

Mooncakes are one of the most popular elements of
Hong Kong’s Mid-Autumn Festival, and for good reason. Baked in intricate moulds
featuring auspicious Chinese blessings, mooncakes are traditionally filled with lotus seed paste and two egg
yolks, but over time, Hong Kong has welcomed many innovative iterations, such as chocolate, durian, kumquat, matcha, egg custard and red bean,
to name just a few.

 

“Moon Rabbit Lumiere” installation




(19 September — 17 October 2018)

For the first time in Hong Kong, Australian artist Amanda Parer’s
larger-than-life “Moon Rabbits” will hop through town. The “Moon Rabbit
Lumiere” art installation will take place on Lee Tung Avenue in Wan Chai and at
the China Hong Kong City in Tsim Sha Tsui. Both venues will showcase 10
illuminated “Moon Rabbits”, as well as a series of celebratory events,
workshops, picnics and fairs throughout the month-long exhibitions. 

 

Caption:

(left) The Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance will take place on 23 to 25
September 2018, and (right) Australian artist Amanda Parer’s “Moon Rabbit
Lumiere” installation.

For more information about Hong Kong and the upcoming Mid-Autumn
Festival festivities, please visit  the Hong Kong Tourism Board at
http://www.discoverhongkong.com.

 

High resolution images and videos can be downloaded from https://bit.ly/2x4wJM5.

 

For images and videos on Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance 2018, please visit Getty
Images at https://www.image.net/press/hongkongimages after the
event.