People perform a fire dragon dance at Aberdeen on Sept 29, 2023, as Hong Kong celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)
HONG KONG - A series of activities have been launched in Hong Kong to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival which falls on Friday this year, showcasing a blend of new technology and traditional culture.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional Chinese festival celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, marking the reunion of family and friends.
The Wan Chai waterfront was swarmed with people taking pictures of images formed by unmanned aircraft during a drone show. When a "mooncake", a traditional pastry dedicated to the festival, appeared in the sky, three-year-old local resident Miriam was excited and asked her parents to take it down for her.
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Large-scale lantern carnivals that took place in various public parks in Hong Kong were highlights of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Spectacular lanterns of different shapes crafted by masters from the Chinese mainland and the SAR were on display.
A giant glowing dragon, made of more than 10,000 burning incense sticks, was hoisted by around 300 people and paraded through the streets of Tai Hang, a neighborhood in the vicinity of Victoria Park
At Victoria Park in Hong Kong Island, where one of the carnivals was held, the lanterns were displayed with the theme of "Chinese Delights in Full Splendour", attracting crowds of people.
In addition, the carnivals also featured other activities, including lantern riddles, orchestra performances, workshops on Cantonese opera accessories, and demonstrations of folk crafts.
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The lantern carnival at the Hong Kong Cultural Center Piazza water pool in Kowloon Peninsula was another popular attraction. The Moon Machine, an interactive lighting installation, created lighting effects through visual and sensory technology. It will change colors in response to the size of the crowd nearby and people can appreciate different shapes of the moon.
Fish lanterns are displayed at Victoria Park to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival on Sept 29, 2023, in Hong Kong. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)
The Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance, a local intangible cultural heritage (ICH) item selected as one of the Remarkable Examples of Good Practice for Safeguarding the National ICH Items in 2019, brought the atmosphere to the peak.
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A giant glowing dragon, made of more than 10,000 burning incense sticks, was hoisted by around 300 people and paraded through the streets of Tai Hang, a neighborhood in the vicinity of Victoria Park. The three-day dragon dance will end on Saturday, wrapping up the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Vice-director of the Tai Hang Residents' Welfare Association Cheung Kwok-ho, who took over as commander of the fire dragon dance this year, hoped that the fire dragon dance will become an annual cultural event and promote Tai Hang to become a tourist attraction.
China Daily's Parker Zheng captured the buzzing moments in different places on Friday night.
