The Dance of the Fire Dragon around Pok Fu Lam

On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the residents would first conduct a ritual to invoke blessings for the smooth-running of the activities. Then the athletic dragon-dancers, young residents of Pok Fu Lam Village, would light up the joss sticks and place them on the body of the dragon. To the rousing drums and gongs, the fire dragon would take bows at the community altars in and around the vicinity. The first to visit is the Li Ling Divine Pagoda in the village, the second is the Temple of the God of the Underworld, and the third is the Temple of the Earth God (Pak Kung), again within the village grounds. Then, the fire dragon would dance through the village with a route covers the main street of the village, the middle section called Wai Tsai, the end section called Long Tsai Tuk (“tail of the dragon”), and finally Choi Yuen (the vegetable farmland). There, fire dragon athletes of different generations would gather to celebrate in an act to confirm the transmission of the heritage. The first evening of the festival thus ends with rousing cheer.

On the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the fire dragon team formed by local residents as well as volunteers would begin the fire dragon dance at the front of the village, on Pok Fu Lam Road, with a coiling routine called “the dragon leaves its cave”. To symbolise this, the many-metres-long fire dragon coils and makes an awesome sight. It next moves on to visit Li Ling the Divine Spirit and God of the Underworld. After this, the fire dragon returns to the front of the village, where new joss sticks would be added onto the body. The fire dragon enters the village proper, visiting each household to bring blessings to the residents. The procession then goes on in the direction of Wah Fu Estate. On arrival, the dragon would do once again the coiling routine. The last spot is at Waterfall Bay, where the ceremony of “the dragon returning to the sea” is conducted. On completing this, the residents would work together to take the extinguished fire dragon from the sea and bring it ashore. This marks the end of the entire event.

The Mid-Autumn Festival Pok Fu Lam Fire Dragon Dance is organised and conducted by local residents, with the assistance of volunteers from the community. This activity serves the purpose of bonding the villagers and the community, as well as preserving the traditional culture of Hong Kong.