Starting on May 9, the eastern neighbourhood of Shau Kei Wan will host a nine-day festival in honour of Tam Kung, the deity of wind and rain. Every year, the festival consists of parades and lion dance performances, but this is the first time in which a 300-metre dragon will be featured. Since this dragon will illuminate the nighttime festivities, participants are encouraged to dress in dragon costumes as well to match.
See the luminous dragon dance on the night of Saturday, May 11, when it will make its way from the Eastern District Cultural Square towards Shau Kei Wan Main Street East, before ending at the Factory Street Playground. Apart from lion dances, a thanksgiving Chinese opera performance, variety shows, and over 70 local merchants selling their wares at a special discount, the festival will also be giving out traditional Tam Kung pastries for free.
Traditionally held from the fourth to the 10th days of the fourth lunar month, the Tam Kung Festival is the largest traditional festivity held in the Shau Kei Wan area. According to Chinese folklore, Tam Kung is a deity who can hail the wind and rain, as well as heal the sick. It is this power to control the weather which endeared him to fisherfolk, and followers built the Tam Kung Temple in Shau Kei Wan in 1905.
