On 16 February 2018, China marks a new year in the lunar calendar: the Year of the Dog, the 11th animal in the Chinese zodiac. Otherwise known as the spring festival, Chinese New Year is a time for Hongkongers to eat, drink, catch up with family, and give red packets – lai see – filled with money (and to receive them if you’ve been good).
In zinging Hong Kong style, the territory offers some of the most vibrant Chinese New Year celebrations that are easy for visitors to get involved in.
Catch the Chinese New Year Parade
Busy entertainment district Tsim Sha Tsui goes all out for Chinese New Year, covering every shopping centre and street in tinselly red baubles, paper cuts, and pillar-box red lanterns. It is on these lively shopping avenues that the Chinese New Year Night Parade takes place on the evening of Chinese New Year (from 6pm, 16 February 2018), featuring vibrant floats and street performers marching to the rhythmic sounds of Chinese drums.
Watch out for the much-loved traditional lion dance, where performers (usually trained martial artists) mimic the animal’s movements using a fluffy puppet lion’s head and body, bringing good fortune to the onlookers.
Watch the Chinese New Year Fireworks
In typical extravagant Hong Kong style, the free fireworks display over Victoria Harbour is the annual highlight of the Chinese New Year calendar. The 25-minute display coincides with the musical Symphony of Lights performance, which has been revamped recently to include more buildings and lasers.
Grab a front-row firework seat on the Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade in Kowloon, the Western District harbourfront in Sai Ying Pun, or in Wan Chai’s Golden Bauhinia Square. Don’t worry if you hear particularly loud sounds during the event; it is all part of the strategy to scare away evil spirits for the upcoming year.
Shop at the Victoria Park Flower Market
Hong Kong Island’s biggest public park, Victoria Park, amplifies its flower power ahead of the Chinese New Year period (10-16 February 2018). Join thousands of other Hongkongers who are purchasing auspicious flowers and plants to decorate their homes during the spring festival.
What should you buy? An orchid is a beautiful gift (as Confucius valued them highly). Other festive flowers include water lilies, which bloom around this time and are considered lucky, along with kumquat and tangerine trees, whose names sound auspicious. Twisty bamboo shoots and cherry blossom branches are also favored for their beauty and symbolism. If you’re in Kowloon, do not miss the Fa Hui Park flower market in Sham Shui Po for lucky blossoms.
Visit Wong Tai Sin Temple
Kowloon’s Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple is one of Hong Kong’s largest and most atmospheric temples, nestled within a bustling residential area. It commemorates a fourth-century Chinese monk who became a deity. The temple is renowned for granting wishes, which explains its popularity!
Chinese New Year is an especially popular time to visit Wong Tai Sin, whether it’s to offer quiet prayers or to shake bamboo sticks, which are then interpreted by a fortune teller. During the holiday, around 100,000 visitors typically arrive at the temple, making it a lively experience. Regardless of whether you wish to make a request, visiting is worthwhile to admire its ornate decor and inhale the fragrant incense swirling through the air.
Eat Auspicious Foods
In a city that takes its cuisine seriously, it’s no surprise that food is the cornerstone of Hong Kong’s Chinese New Year celebrations.
There are several ‘lucky’ dishes consumed during the festival, recognized for their auspicious meanings in Cantonese. For example, lettuce (sang choi) is often eaten (and ‘fed’ to the lions during the lion dance) since it sounds similar to the phrase ‘growing wealth’. Oysters (ho see) are linked with ‘good business’, and sticky rice cake, a traditional Chinese New Year dish enjoyed for over a millennium, means ‘year high’. Yee sang is a tossed raw-fish salad known for its resemblance to abundance, and black moss fungus fat choi is favored during this festive period because it sounds like ‘prosperity’, which aligns with the traditional greeting kung hei fat choy.
One popular dish at Chinese New Year gatherings is poon choi, a communal feast that originated in traditional villages within the New Territories, where layers of meat and seafood are prepared in a big bowl, resulting in a hearty stew.
Get Down with the Dogs
This year celebrates the Year of the Dog, with plenty of ways to honor man’s best friend. Although Hong Kong isn’t known for being particularly dog-friendly (most beaches and parks prohibit dogs), this does not deter locals from dressing their pooches in festive costumes. During the Chinese New Year holiday, keep an eye out in the Central and Sheung Wan neighborhoods for dogs adorned in celebratory red jackets, bowties, and booties.
On Wan Chai’s cobbled Lee Tung Avenue, there is a four-metre-high knotted sculpture of a dog, crafted using the traditional Chinese art of knotting. Moreover, dog motifs and paw prints can be spotted in various shopping malls throughout the city.
Furthermore, there is no shortage of festive pooch merchandise available. The MTR Company is selling limited-edition Octopus transport cards decorated with dogs, along with exclusive souvenir tickets. Additionally, the Hong Kong Post Office has launched a special series of dog-themed stamps, perfect for sending home postcards featuring the iconic Victoria Harbour fireworks.
