Tuen Ng Festival 端午节 (端午節)

Finally, Friday. And better yet, Monday’s a public holiday.

Tuen Ng Festival or Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated on the 5th day of the 5th month of the Lunar calendar. This year, it happens to fall on Monday June 6th. The festival originates from ancient China and there are a few versions of how it began. The most popular of these folklore attributes the festival to the death of a poet and statesman called Qu Yuan 屈原(340-278 BC). Qu Yuan was a descendant of the Chu noble house during the Warring States period of the Zhou dynasty. He opposed the alliance of the state of Chu with the neighboring state of Qin and was thus banished for treason. He is best remembered for the poetry which he wrote during his period of exile. He was in despair when the capital of the state of Chu was conquered by the Qin. Thus, he committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the 5th day of the 5th month 278 BC. He was admired amongst the local people and folklore has it that the local people threw lumps of rice into the river to feed the fish and discourage them from eating Qu Yuan’s body. They also made a lot of noise at the river by beating drums to scare away the fish.

In Hong Kong, the focus of the celebrations is eating glutinous rice dumplings 粽子 and dragon boat racing 划龙舟. Glutinous rice dumplings can be bought from most bakeries, yum cha restaurants, Chinese restaurants and some chaa chan teng 茶餐厅(廳).

Glutinous rice dumpling

It is also said that the festival predates Qu Yuan and is grounded in superstitions, beliefs and traditions. That is why some Chinese also hang fragrant sachets香包around children’s necks, hang calamus菖蒲 and moxa艾草 above their front doors, display portraits of Zhong Kui or other deities, imbibe in realgar wine 雄黄酒 (a strong yellow wine) as well as try to stand an egg at 12 noon. It is said that you will enjoy good luck during the coming year if you can make an egg stand up on its end during the Horse Hour (between 11 am to 1 pm) on Dragon Boat Day.

Dragon boat racing is very popular in Hong Kong and events will be held at:

5th June 2011 – Chai Wan Cargo Handling Basin

6th June 2011 – Stanley Main Beach, Aberdeen Promenade, Shing Mun River (Sha Tin), Sai Kung Town Waterfront, Castle Peak Bay Typhoon Shelter, Promenade at Tai Po Waterfront Park, Tai Pak Beach (Discovery Bay), Cheung Chau Typhoon Shelter and Tai O Sheltered Boat Anchorage (Lantau Island).

Buddha's birthday and Cheung Chau Bun Festival

The Lord Buddha's birthday is celebrated on the 8th day of the 4th month of the Lunar calendar. This year, it falls on May 10th i.e. tomorrow. It is a holiday in Hong Kong and even if you are not a Buddhist, there are places you can visit to be part of the festivities. There are lots of Buddhist temples in Hong Kong but probably the best known is at the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island.

A giant statue of the sitting Buddha is set serenely atop the Ngong Ping Plateau. It is the world's largest outdoor bronze statue of the sitting Buddha (there are larger statues of the reclining Buddha). You can admire it from afar or better yet, brave the 200 odd step climb up to the platform where the statue is seated to view it up close and to take in the breathtaking mountain scenery of Lantau Island. From there, it is short walk to Wisdom Path and a vegetarian lunch. Wisdom Path is an outdoor replica of the centuries old Heart Sutra, one of the world's best known prayers revered by Buddhists, Confucians and Taoists alike.

The Bun Festival takes place in Cheung Chau, another colorful outlying island of Hong Kong. Whilst it is celebrated on the same day as Lord Buddha's birthday, it is actually a Taoist festival. As part of the celebrations, a 60 foot tower is erected in front of the Pak Tai Temple. The Pak Tai Temple was erected in 1783 and is dedicated to the popular Taoist God of the Sea. Originally, people scrambled up a bamboo tower covered with sweet buns to see who could collect the most. The race for buns came to an abrupt end in 1978 when the bun tower collapsed, injuring 100 people. After a break of 26 years, the bun climb was re-introduced in 2005. For safety reasons, the tower is erected of metal scaffolding and the buns are plastic replicas. Instead of a free for all, the climb is now limited to 12 finalists. The scramble for the plastic buns will take place at midnight where they race to get to the top-most 'luckiest buns".

Th edible sweet buns with fortune messages printed in red can be purchased from the island's 2 bun makers. Leading up to this day, the entire island's residents go vegetarian for 3 days (even McDonald's) until the parade. The highlight of the parade must surely be the costumed children carried atop poles to look like they are floating.

Picture courtesy of Hong Kong Tourism Board website

Have a great day out tomorrow!