Read More
Are you ready for the sound of banging drums, the sight of colorful boats and the taste of zongzi? It's that time of the year again: Tuen Ng or Dragon Boat Festival.
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
The holiday falls on this Friday and will see the long-awaited return of exciting dragon boat races plus festivities in Stanley and Tai O after a couple of years of very limited activities.
Dragon boat races are the most entertaining event of the festival. It is said that paddling to the beat of the drum appeases the gods and wards off evil spirits.
It is a sport of unity, with typically 20 paddlers in a standard-size boat plus a drummer in front and someone taking the helm at the stern. Dragon boat races are now held in over 60 countries.
The biggest event, the Stanley Dragon Boat Championships, is slated for Friday from 8am to 5pm at Stanley Main Beach. Contestants will race the 270-meter course in five standard boat divisions and three small boat divisions.
This year's spectacle features hundreds of teams divided into Stanley Gold Cup, open, mixed (corporate and open) and ladies' divisions.
The Tai O Water Parade and Dragon Boat Race are also set for Friday at Tai O Public Pier. This is a unique cultural tradition featuring a water parade procession with statues of deities on "sacred sampans" that are towed by dragon boats through the waterways.
Along the way of the parade the residents of Tai O's stilt houses burn incense and paper offerings. Following this dragon boat races are held to "entertain the gods."
Ensure you check event updates prior to heading out due to continuing public health restrictions. But with summer nearly here do take the opportunity to enjoy the return of this year's revelries.
Bernard Charnwut Chan is chairman of Tai Kwun Culture & Arts Co Ltd.
