Written by HK Cheapo
From traditional celebrations to partying aplenty, make time to rest, recharge, and reset this September. Savour the drama of world-class queer cinema. Watch as the fiery dragon rumbles through the neighbourhood of Tai Hang in a hypnotic spectacle. Reflect on neon signs, and the city that once was, through the medium of photography.
Traditional festivals
Hungry Ghost Festival
The Hungry Ghost Festival, celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, sees Hongkongers honouring ancestral spirits and restless souls with food offerings, incense, and the burning of joss paper. Recognised as part of China’s cultural heritage, the festival includes observing traditional rituals, enjoying vegetarian food, and watching live performances like Cantonese Opera and folk dances.
Yu Lan Cultural Festival
The Yu Lan Festival is Hong Kong’s unique take on the Hungry Ghost Festival, brought by Teochew immigrants and now listed as part of the city’s intangible cultural heritage. Every seventh lunar month, neighbourhoods stage Taoist rituals, Cantonese opera, and street banquets to honour wandering spirits.
Tai Hang Fire Dragon Festival
Head to the ritzy neighbourhood of Tai Hang, Causeway Bay, to catch this fiery spectacle. As the story goes, around 1880, a deadly plague broke out. A village elder had a dream, where Buddha told him to perform a fire dragon dance to purge bad luck and evil spirits. Constructing a dragon out of straw, the villagers covered its body with sticks of burning incense, and for three days and three nights paraded it through the village. It has now become an annual ritual, with similar festivities in Pok Fu Lam Village (September 25, 2026 from 6:30 p.m.) and Aberdeen (also September 25, 2026, from 8 p.m.).
Exhibitions
City of Lights: Hong Kong’s Neon Heritage
This free exhibition at Blue Lotus Gallery presents hundreds of previously unseen photographs documenting neon signage from the 1990s and 2000s. Macgregor’s images capture not only the spectacle of the city after dark but also the stories of the people behind it. Alongside the show, a new book expands the archive with essays and interviews.
Creative Cross-Pollination: The Future of Crafts
Crafts on Peel is a non‑profit foundation housed in a historic Central building. Creative Cross-Pollination: The Future of Crafts features seven groups of local and international makers, showcasing works that merge heritage techniques with modern imagination. Look out for reimainged scholar’s rocks and intricate gold filigree works.
Arts and Culture
Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Fest
Going strong for nearly four decades, the Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Fest is the region’s oldest queer film festival. This year, movies to look out for include Tiger, made by the Japan-based Indian filmmaker Anshul Chauhan, and Montréal, My Beautiful, one of the opening films.
ASEAN Film Fest
Hong Kong has its own vibrant history of cinema, and the ASEAN Film Fest is dedicated to highlighting diverse voices and creative storytelling from across Southeast Asia and beyond. This year’s films include After the Curfew, an Indonesian classic dating back to the 1950s, and the 2022 Philippine psychological comedy drama film Leonor Will Never Die.
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