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Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Mid-Autumn Festival Customs

Fire dragon dance during the Mid-autumn Festival in Hong Kong Fire dragon dance is the most popular activity during the Mid-autumn festival in Hong Kong. Fire dragon dance takes place the day before the festival and continue to the day after the festival.Tai Hang, Causeway Bay each year. The fire dragon is over 70m (230 ft) long. The dragon body is comprised of 32 sections which are stuck full of long joss sticks. On the pageant night, in streets or lanes in this block, lines of winding and undulating fire dragons will dance joyfully under the light of lanterns to music of dragon drums. It is very noisy! There is a legend about the origin of the Hong Kong fire dragon dance on Mid-Autumn Festival... Once upon a time, after a storm attack, there appeared snakes in Tai Hang, which did evils everywhere, so villagers hunted them everywhere and struck them dead. Unexpectedly, the following day the snakes disappeared without any trace. A few days later, a plague took place in Tai Hang. Then, suddenly a Bodhisattva appeared in the dreams of elders of the village, and said that if they just danced the fire dragon on Mid-Autumn Festival, they would get rid of the plague. This was quite successful. Since then, the fire dragon dance has been practiced till now.

No matter how many traditional superstitions the legend has, China is the homeland of dragons. In Hong Kong, the Tai Hang fire dragon dance during the Mid-Autumn Festival has had a history of more than 100 years, and that is worth cherishing. Nowadays, the Tai Hang fire dragon dance is large in scale, excluding the head coach, coaches, commander-in-chief, commanders and security groups, dragon dancers can be over 30,000. See China Highlights' Hong Kong tours to celebrate the Mid-autumn Festival with local people.

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Places to Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong

Victoria Peak

Victoria Peak is the highest peak on Hong Kong Island with an altitude of 554 meters (1820 ft) and has been considered as a landmark of the island. It is the best place to have a bird’s-eye view of the whole island. On the festival night, viewed from the peak, the island becomes a fairyland with the spectacular lights of its immense towers dancing in unison with the moon.

Avenue of Stars

The Avenue of Stars is a good alternative if you do not want to climb Victoria Peak. It is the best place to view the night scenery of Hong Kong Island. Enjoy a fabulous view of night scenery: dazzling lights of the high buildings across the sea of Tsim Sha Tsui dance together in the glittering moon.

Repulse Bay

It is a small bay on the south of Hong Kong Island. It is considered as one of the most romantic places in Hong Kong to young people because of the young Chinese writer, Zhang Ailing (Eileen Chang). Eileen Chang spent some time there and wrote “Love in a Fallen City”, her best-known novel.

Lantau Island

Lantau Island is a sparsely populated island of mainly theme parks, tourist sites, parks and natural areas. It has become a refreshing destination for local Hongkongers who come here for a weekend’s rest. The island is also a good place for a hiking tour. See Lantau Island hiking guide.

Recommended Restaurants for the Mid-Autumn Festival Dinner

Fengjing Restaurant: It is the highest restaurant in Hong Kong, located on Victoria Peak. It is a western restaurant. Many films used it as a background. It was selected as one of the best places to propose marriage, largely due to its romantic atmosphere.

Felix Restaurant at Peninsular Hotel: The restaurant is housed at the 28th floor of the hotel, with a view of Victoria Harbor. It is a mix of restaurant and bar, functioning as a dinning place at dinner time and changing to a bar afterward.

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