Dragon and Lion Dance Extravaganza roars back to life

More than 120 dragon dance teams from Hong Kong, Macau and the mainland paraded across Star Avenue in Tsim Sha Tsui yesterday to for the Dragon and Lion Dance Extravaganza.

After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the extravaganza showcased 128 dancing dragons - with over half of them students from local kindergartens, primary and secondary schools - as well as martial arts performances at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.

The extravaganza was first held in 2011 on Canton Road and made various Guinness world records, including in 2012, when 88 dragons danced together for over five minutes.

The 128 dragons - and more than 1,500 dragon dance athletes - traveled along Star Avenue and sent New Year blessings to tourists.

Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong's lawmaker Frankie Ngan Man-yu, the event convener, said the organizing committee offered lion and dragon dance classes at schools last year to promote the tradition among students. He added: "The dancing dragons and lions have been a symbol of joy and peace, and we hope to spread the joyfulness across the city."

Also at the opening ceremony, acting secretary for commerce and economic development Bernard Chan Pak-li said the city has seen a "double-digit increase" in private consumption since the launch of consumption vouchers and the "Hello Hong Kong" and "Night Vibe" campaigns.

Meanwhile, more than 1,100 swimmers aged six to 77 took to the sea on a warm winter day for the annual New Year Winter Swimming Lifesaving Championships.

The 600-meter races were divided into six categories, with 29-year-old Keith Sin Chin-ting and 24-year-old Wong Suet-wing winning the men's and women's championships in the open category, respectively.

The temperature was around 19 degrees Celsius, with sunny weather.

At the Sha Tin Racecourse, some 30,000 punters tried their luck at the Lucky Start Raceday, with a mega prize of up to HK$100 million, up from last year's 23,000 people when most social distance pandemic curbs were lifted.

The Hong Kong Jockey Club recorded some HK$1.65 billion bets yesterday, down from HK$1.7 billion last year.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com