Hong Kong’s intangible heritage will take center stage at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre this November, as traditional crafts, martial arts, music and performance are brought together for a three-day celebration designed to show how old practices can continue to evolve.
The Intangible Cultural Heritage Mart 2026 will run from November 6 to 8 at Piazza A and B under the theme “Crafts in Connection, Tradition in Continuation.” Organized by Earthpulse Society as part of the Hong Kong Culture Festival and Muse Fest 2026, the free event looks at heritage not as something fixed in the past, but as a living practice shaped by participation, reinterpretation and exchange.
The performance program brings together several strands of Hong Kong’s cultural traditions, from martial arts and lion dance to regional music.
Among the highlights is a performance combining Hung Shing Choi Lee Fat Fist, lion dance and lion drumming, curated by the Chiu Man On Martial Art Association. A commentary will follow to introduce audiences to the techniques and cultural background behind the performance.
Elsewhere, the Hong Kong Chaoren Culture & Arts Promotion Association will present Chiu Chow music, while a children’s lion dance performance and traditional Guangdong music played by a five-piece ensemble will add further layers to the weekend program.
The idea is less about presenting traditions in isolation than showing how movement, rhythm, music and craftsmanship overlap within Hong Kong’s cultural identity.
The quieter side of the program can be found in its workshops and live demonstrations, where visitors can watch traditional skills unfold at close range.
Pre-registered workshops include bamboo steamer weaving, paper-art night lights, flower buttons and hand-fried candied ginger, with several sessions designed for families.
One of the more tactile experiences comes from master printer Leung Kwok-hung, who has spent more than five decades working with movable type and vintage letterpress machines. His demonstration will trace the development of movable-type printing in Hong Kong, with visitors able to try a hand-cranked letterpress and print their own card.
Contemporary artist Louis To Wun, meanwhile, will demonstrate sugar sculpting and sugar blowing. Using techniques of pulling, pinching, cutting and blowing, he will show how heated sugar paste can be transformed into delicate forms, before participants try shaping the material themselves under guidance.
That meeting of old technique and contemporary interpretation sits at the heart of this year’s theme: a reminder that heritage survives not simply through preservation, but through continued use.
Visitors can also take part in ICH-inspired face and arm painting, create customized shaker keychains, collect mini cards featuring stories about local heritage, and explore interactive games and photo spots around the venue.
The Intangible Cultural Heritage Mart opens from 3pm to 6pm on November 6, and from noon to 6pm on November 7 and 8. Admission is free. For details, click here.
marco.lam@singtaonewscorp.com
