A traditional Chinese festival aimed at pacifying the spirits of the dead and a lantern lighting ritual to celebrate the arrival of newborn sons are among the new items added to a list of Hong Kong’s intangible cultural heritage.
Authorities updated the list on Friday, with the night dragon boat parade in Tai Po and the technique of creating Guangzhou painted porcelain also making the cut as elements of heritage considered to have high cultural value and a pressing need for preservation.
The four additions took the number of items on the list to 24. They are the first to be added since the list was introduced in 2017.
Lau Chi-pang, a historian and legislator, said all four were of cultural significance and he was glad to see the government make the update.
“In some walled villages in the New Territories, villagers still follow the tradition to perform the lantern lighting ritual during the first month of the lunar calendar to inform ancestors about the newborn sons in the family. There will also be a big feast for clansmen,” he said.
Lau also said the night dragon boat parade was unique and performed only in Tai Po. The parade is carried out to pray for the blessings of deities and the safety of those on land and at sea.
