In 2011 The Cheung Chau Jiao Festival, the Tai O dragon boat water parade, the Tai Hang fire dragon dance and the Yu Lan Ghost Festival have been added to the third national intangible cultural heritage list. The cultural significance of these four items is recognised by their being inscribed onto the third national list of intangible cultural heritage.
There are about 1.2 million people originating from Chiu Chow in Hong Kong who actively carry on their traditions. Over a million of Chaozhou people are around HK. They have high concentration in most of the old housing estates in urban area, but not NT. During the ghost festival, which lasts for a month every year, the Chiu Chow people in Hong Kong organise the Yu Lan Festival that starts from the first day of the seventh lunar month and continues until the end of that month. Having been held for more than 100 years, the festival is to offer sacrifices to ancestors and the wandering ghosts in the netherworld. The main activities include burning incense and joss papers, performing live Chinese operas and dramas for ghosts, distributing auspicious rice and auctioning auspicious objects. These performances usually take place in parks, piazzas, pitches or other sufficiently spacious places. Song and performance stages and a sacrificial altar are set up at each venue and the dramas are mainly in Chiu Chow style. Other performing arts and handicraft making are also held. In 2011 the Ghost Month is from July 31 to August 28 and the Ghost Festival date is August 14. The Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh lunar month (14th in southern China).
The Yu Lan Ghost Festival of the Hong Kong Chiu Chow community is now part of China's national intangible cultural heritage. I am always impressed how the Yu Lan festivals are customized from one area to another. That is very interesting to study. Today evening I went one hour to Yu Lan in Kai Tak East Playground in Choi Hung. Many people there watching Chinese opera and making offerings. Maybe because it is closed to Rhythm Garden huge estate. Anyway it is nice to see a traditional event so lively today.Activities related to Yu Lan Festival are held at 60 different places in Hong Kong SAR. Part of those places are:
Hong Kong island (16)
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Large scale celebrations are carried out and delicious food is offered.
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| Hungry Ghost festival |
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Among the common items offered included abacus, axe, golden rice bowl and rice bucket, statutes of the God of Wealth, statutes of fish, cow, pi xiu (a legendary auspicious animal), horses and toads.
Burning paper money or paper effigies at the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts expresses the wish and the hope that the deities will exercise their power to protect devotees.
Last evening I went to Sai Ying Pun. Many changes in this district. Many new huge towers are built such as residential buildings or hotels. Soon the MTR will reach Kennedy Town so many areas close to future MTR stations are under redevelopment. Sai Ying Pun is still a traditional district but for how long? There are still some old shophouses but it looks like some of them have already been wiped out since my last visit. I went there to try to find some areas where Yu Lan (Hungry Ghost festival) was still celebrated. I found two places. One is a small altar located on Connaught Road West. There are some red lamps that are installed at street corners in order to guide wandering ghosts to the altar. The second is a bigger scale is located on Second Street. The temporary altars have been built so the festival should happen soon. The Ghost King was still under construction. I will have to come back soon. One old lady and her grandson were burning papers and making offerings to wandering ghosts and ancestors Last evening i went to Cheung Sha Wan, Lei Cheng Uk estate for Yu Lan (Hungry Ghosts) traditional festival. It was organized on a playground. Such events last 3 days. Yesterday was the last and third days so the King of hell paper effigy has already been burnt. There were many temporary structures such as a Chinese opera theater made of bamboo poles. There was a Taoist temporary structure for priests. Weird dances were performed to ease ghosts. There was some altar for people to pray, burn incense and make donations. I went to Chinese opera theater backstage. The performers were coming from Fujian province in Mainland China. Really need to improve my mandarin to be able to do a real conversation :-( As usual the performers were very friendly, offering me tea, water, fruits, even to eat dinner also and allowing me to take whatever pictures in the backstage. I wanted to take pictures of them but finally they all wanted to take pictures of me. It seems i look very tall for them. Despite being a 5 years old camera, my trusty Nikon D200 still performs well in low light. I will upload soon some nice portraits. Food, paper clothing and spirit money are all burned for the ghosts. By no. of large-scale festivals with opera shows and no. of people participate, Yulan must be the no. 1 heritage in H.K. Though its history is shorter since most are belong to immigrant groups after the war. Also Yulan is no. in diversity Hungry ghosts. Men sleep in the backstage to take caRe of the belongings. Women and some other members will take a bus coach to sleep in some buildings in new territories. They receive their salary on daily basis. Sometimes the backstage is divided into two parts in the middle. Often on the left musicians linked to cords instruments and computer operator. On the right musicians linked to cymbals and gong. In the middle place to sit chat and change clothes put make up on. It includes wardrobes with costumes and cupboards with magistral hats such as a crowns... Men and women change clothes together. There is no privacy. Anyway all always keep some white clothes beneath so decency remains. It is very hot inside the backstage as there is no air circulation. So often performers might open a temporary windows to let air coming. Musicians have their own small fans. Performers from mainland China always friendly and allow to come in to take pictures. People make offerings face to the king ghost and then go to burn the offerings in the dedicated area either a little bit remote from other temporary buildings or protected by higher walls. When opera performers and the priests act at the same time the atmosphere can become very noisy. Evening sessions often start from 7pm to 11pm. Always offering a chair I went to Shau Kei Wan this evening. No hell door. No ghost King paper effigy but a kind of poster. It is only first day of the festival today. The Chinese opera theather was not made of bamboo but based on concrete blocks, steel bars and big red awning. Is it due to budget limitation or building bamboo theater become a burden for some communities or it becomes difficult to find people to build some traditional theater made of bamboo? In Shau Kei Wan, people sleep under the Chinese opera theater No. When the community scale is small as only one block. Usually a large basis is needed for opera. That requires fund raising efforts too. That was a very special one with the huge gate of hell, Daoist ritual, organized by a neighborhood association. This one from today belongs to another group of people, a Chaozhou group, with Buddhist rituals. They also share the temporary s...tructure. This new kind of modern structure is getting into local festivals in recent years. Cheaper, and long contract for a few years. Far less interesting as the bamboo scaffolding Quite a few of these opera troupes are traveling from one Yulan to the other around HK during the Ghost month. Many of them are sleeping on stage, and "under stage" - something they used to do in the countryside long time ago in China. Not any more in China, but still in metropolitan HK!!! Backstage Cantonese opera and Chaozhou opera. Smaller scale. Help each other and can perform many tasks such as singing, acting, playing some instrument, changing decoration... Cantonese opera have stars with their own room. "I think only one opera troupe get accommodation arrangement. It is hard for them to come performing in Hong Kong. Summer is too hot. The payment is not better. Why still coming? It is because the opera troupe wants to reach an status of "overseas" or "international" level." (1) A teammate told me there is Yulan 4 days festival 20-23 Aug @ Shatin & 5 days festival 20-24 Aug @ Causeway Bay (behind Central Library) (2) I thought Yulan / Hungry Ghosts festival always last 3 days but he told me "If you have enough money, you can have more days." (1) There will be an interesting procession with Tin Hau at Peng Chau tomorrow afternoon. It is a part of another yearly Yulan on Peng Chau. (2) They do carry the statue around the island. Lots of flags, animal dances and worshipers - http://www.facebook.com/PengChauTinHauParade?sk=wall&filter=1 (3) Very interesting and local. Also very hot with 32 degrees forecasted! I cannot join as I will join a junk trip to Sai Kung country park Keeping alive a tradition of appeasing hungry ghosts Wednesday, August 31, 2011 The seventh moon of the lunar year has just come to an end. It is often called the ghost month because, of course, its highlight is the hungry ghosts festival. That night is marked in many Chinese and other Buddhist cultures in Asia, and even in this modern age Hong Kong people burn incense outside their apartment blocks to appease the lost souls who wander the world during the month - the spirits who have no one else in this world to pay tribute to them in the next. The month is especially important to my own community, the Chiu Chow. Traditionally, the Chiu Chow put special effort into ceremonies to ease the suffering of these lost souls. It was considered a public-spirited and charitable duty to look after them. As far back as the 1850s, the annual rituals played an important role in helping the new immigrant community establish itself in neighborhoods such as Shau Kei Wan after leaving their homeland in southeast Guangdong. To this day, many Hong Kong people of Chiu Chow heritage go back to those original districts to celebrate. One important part of the Yulan ceremonies, as they are known, is entertainment, notably Chiu Chow-style opera (with the front row of seats left empty for invisible guests). The Hong Kong Chiu Chow Yulan ghost festival is now listed by China under the Unesco convention for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. Bernard Charnwut Chan, chairman of the Antiquities Advisory Board, sees culture from all perspectives. Last week, there was the Yulan (Hungry Ghosts) festival in Central. Central is nowadays a modern business and commercial district so it is interesting to still find this traditional festival there. It was happening on Aberdeen Street, just near the famous Soho area where bars and restaurants are mushrooming. Around Aberdeen street, many old buildings have been destroyed and are under redevelopment So the festival committee may not be able to keep their old building forever due to the district fast development and Soho extension. This festival is happening on the street so many people going to Soho or coming from Soho with drinks are passing by. Offerings and prayers are done to the wandering ghosts (people which died without descendants) Taxis and cars are going by also. The Ghost paper effigy was built by Mr Chan, a 92 years old master, still living a few streets away. It is a 'one day' festival for the local community. Neighbours are burning paper and greeting each other. There is really a high temperature around due to papers burning on the street. This Yulan festival has a different mood as modernism and traditionalism are mixing here but for how long? Funny to see some expats in high fashion clothes going out from adjacent bars while holding glasses of champagne and having a weird look about what is going on there! A great journey around Hong Kong is to join a junk trip from Tsim Sha Tsui to Tai Long Wan pristine beaches in Sai Kung Country Park There are no more traditional Chinese junk boats but some large vessels that can be rent for one day for a few thousands HKD It can accommodate more than 30 people and food is included. Great fun for a trip with friends or office colleagues. The boat will go from Tsim Sha Tsui to Sai Kung Country Park during two hours. It goes trough Victoria Harbour then through the South China sea It ends the trip on Sai Wan beach located at East side of Sai Kung Country Park. During the journey impressive Hong Kong skyline can be seen. Many luxurious yachts and speed boats are also sailing around. One of the highlight of the trip is to jump from the boat inside the sea and then swim to the beach. No shark net here... The best part is the journey back to Hong Kong through Victoria harbour under a glittering sunset.Various Hungry Ghost festival pictures from HKkhikers:
| Yu Lan 2009 |
| Yu Lan 2010 |
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