Handmade tradition lights up Yuen Long’s iconic ‘Lantern Street’

An incense shop in Yuen Long’s Tai Kiu Market transforms into a vibrant “Lantern Street” every Mid-Autumn Festival, drawing crowds of residents and celebrities to snap up hand-crafted lanterns that showcase decades of traditional craftsmanship. 

Shop owner Wong, in her 60s, opened the store in 1984, initially selling joss sticks and incense. Her husband, skilled in traditional paper-crafting, made large flower cannons for rural villages in Yuen Long to celebrate the Tin Hau Festival. The family expanded into making Mid-Autumn lanterns around 30 years ago, with Wong’s husband passing down the craft to their son. 

In the early days, the lanterns were made using bamboo splints, crepe paper, and tissue paper to create classic designs like goldfish, rabbits, and starfruit. However, Wong said the crepe paper tore easily in heavy winds, resulting in heavy stock loss. To make the lanterns more durable, Wong’s son modernized the technique about ten years ago, replacing the bamboo frames and crepe paper with sturdy iron wire, cellophane, and fabric. 

The family produces more than 10,000 lanterns with more than 100 designs each year, ranging from classic rabbits to popular shapes like dolphins, pumpkin coaches, flying dragons, and frog princes. The intricate production process, which takes up to a year, involves crafting iron wire frames and carefully gluing fabrics or cellophane to catch the light beautifully.

The “Lantern Street” phenomenon began around 2010, when the shop expanded into adjacent stalls. Due to overwhelming popularity—and queues sometimes lasting up to four hours—the shop now starts its seasonal sales early, beginning on the 16th day of the seventh lunar month.

Over the years, the market staple has attracted loyal supporters from the neighborhood, as well as prominent figures, including local celebrities Liza Wang Ming-chuen, Vivian Lai Shui-yan and Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung.

Having lived in Yuen Long for more than a decade, the customer, nicknamed “Sa,” said she makes a point of returning to the shop to buy traditional lanterns that remind her of her childhood.

With handmade lantern craftsmanship becoming increasingly rare, Wong hopes future generations will continue the family tradition glowing for years to come.

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓