Culture Archives | Hong Kong Cheapo

While Tai Hang hosts the city’s most famous fire dragon dance, Pok Fu Lam’s century‑old tradition is equally beautiful and filled with community spirit. What happens? On the evening of Mid‑Autumn Festival (the 15th day of the eighth lunar month), dozens of villagers parade a huge straw incense‑burning dragon through the lanes of Pok Fu Lam. The dance begins with incense offerings and the ritual of painting the dragon’s eyes before it parades through the village to bless households and residents. The dragon then makes its way to Waterfall Bay, where the ceremony concludes with the act of returning the dragon to the sea, symbolising the dragon carrying away misfortune, bad luck, and illness and cleansing the community. Alongside Pok Fu Lam, fire dragon dances are also staged in other parts of Hong Kong. Aberdeen hosts its own Mid‑Autumn parade through the district, while the Tai Hang fire dragon dance remains the city’s most famous and largest fire dragon tradition. What's the story behind the dragon? The Pok Fu Lam Fire Dragon Dance began in the late 19th century, when villagers built a hay dragon covered in burning incense to cleanse the village of a plague. The ritual worked, and it became a lasting tradition. Though large‑scale dances declined in the 1970s, the custom has since been revived, now celebrated annually as a formally organised heritage event. What is the route? The procession begins at the village entrance, followed by the dragon’s first circling dance. It then visits the Li Ling Divine Pagoda and Western King Shrine before parading through the main village lanes (Wai Chai, Lung Chai, and Choi Yuen). Later, the dragon moves along Wah Fu Road to perform outside Wah Fu Estate before ending at Waterfall Bay. How to get there The simplest route is to take the MTR to Central Station, then transfer to a bus heading along Pok Fu Lam Road. Convenient options include routes 37A, 90B, and 30X, which all stop just a short walk away from the village. Alternatively, take the MTR to Kennedy Town Station and get the 23 or 23M minibus to Pok Fu Lam Reservoir road.

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Pok Fu Lam Fire Dragon Dance

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