In Hong Kong, the Hungry Ghost Festival is a major Buddhist and Taoist event. Hungry ghosts are the restless spirits of people who did not have a funeral. There is no one visiting their graves and they do not receive the gifts that Chinese people would take to their ancestors to pay respects. They miss out on food and spirit money.
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Huge paper mache models of clothes for ghosts. It will be burnt at the end of
the festival.
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| Hungry Ghost festival |
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During this festival, many shops are selling paper items to be burnt and offered
to the wandering hungry spirits.
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| Paper chest |
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Shop, located on Queen's road, selling incense and paper funeral offerings.
This shop sells miniature paper representations of everything that an ancestor might need in the
afterlife, i.e. three-story villas and household help, handbags with matching shoes,
electric fans and fine cognac.
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| Shop selling paper funeral offerings |
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Many old shops are being forced to close to make way for new towers or because
they cannot afford expensive rentals. One of them is Chow Kee shop which deals with
paperwork associated with traditional ceremonies (Hungry Ghost Festival...)
and which has been on Stauton Street since one century.
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| Chow Kee shop |
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The papercraft and offering store, Chow Kee, stands out due to the lanterns and Chinese decorations in various shapes of red decorating the front.
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The 88-year old papercraft master still makes the paper effigy of the
Hungry Ghost king on Aberdeen Street from scratch. During the Hungry Ghosts
festival, he creates a five-meter tall "Ghost King" and other figures from
paper and bamboo.
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| Paper body of the Hungry Ghost king |
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In year 2008, the old papercraft master was forced out of his century-old shop because of the high rent but finally found a new shop on neighbouring Elgin Street.
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A businessman even had offered the old papercraft master a space in Tsim Sha Tsui
but he preferred to stay in the neighbourhood as most of the customers are long-time residents
of the neighbourhood, who drop by on their way to shop and chatter away.
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| Chow Kee shop |
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Mr Chan's skilful hands have created large paper sacrifices for traditional religious functions and delicate goldfish lanterns. He finally moved to G/F, 14E Elgin St., Central. At the Hungry Ghost festival in Aberdeen street, Chan has always been commissioned to make a paper Ghost King that is over 20 feet tall. According to Chan, the 1930s was the prime period for the ritual paper craft business.
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Hungry Ghost festival is still happening in Aberdeen street in Central vibrant district.
In the nearby street called Staunton Street, new modern towers are built following the Urban Renewal
Authority decision to redevelop the area.
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| Hungry Ghost festival in Aberdeen street |
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Fears happening that Hungry Ghost festival 2010 in Aberdeen street, Central district, was likely to be the last celebration. But Urban Renewal Authority couldn't acquire enough properties in the area to launch a complete redevelopment, so the festival will still happen at least for a few years...
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The Hungry Ghost festival in Abderdeen street is noisy, colourful and
stands in sharp contrast to sophisticated and superficial SoHo.
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| Hungry Ghost festival in Aberdeen street |
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Food is offered especially whole roasted pig and colored cakes.
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| Food offering |
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To drive away the wandering spirits, roast suckling pig and fruit are offered, along with paper offerings.
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Paper offerings depicting the Eight Immortals can often be seen in the temporary
matsheds built for the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts.
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| Paper offerings |
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The culmination of the event is the burning of the paper offerings in the evening, to keep the ghosts away for another year.
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Huge, fiery and striking paper effigy representing Taai Si Wong sitting on a temporary altar.
Each dialect group has his own style of paper sculpture. Blue-faced Taai Si Wong is made by
the Chiu Chow people. Chow Kee shop made this 2-storey tall Ghost King.
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| Taai Si Wong |
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People believe it rains every year until rice is distributed to the elderly.
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Except for the food, which is distributed later, everything else is burned, i.e. paper clothing and spirit
money...
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| Food offering |
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An old man makes the paper effigy of the Hungry Ghost king on Staunton Street from scratch. This paper-craft master has now found new premises for his business. Chan Kwei-chow, who has been in the trade for more than 70 years, is well known for making larger-than-life paper idols and lanterns. He is to relocate his shop to the nearby Elgin Street.
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Many return to pay respects to their ancestors because their
ancestral altar is still here.
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| Ancestral altar |
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Elderly women spend hours folding gold and silver paper into bars of gold.
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From time to time, Buddhist monks or Taoist priests come in turns to chant their liturgies.
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| Taoist priests |
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Popular other venues are King George V Memorial Park in Kowloon and Moreton Terrace Playground in Causeway Bay.
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Buddhist monks or Taoist priests chant their liturgies.
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| Taoist priests |
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