Today (26th) is the birthday of the Buddha, Cheung Chau will hold the Taiping Qingyu, the floating color parade that has been suspended for three years due to the epidemic and the official return of Baoshan Mountain. In addition to the colorful parade, the popular safety bag is also on the market. Stepping into 12 midnight, there will also be a thrilling bag grabbing mountain final.
2023 Taiping Qingyu Calendar. (FB Images)
Taiping Qingyu is listed as an intangible cultural heritage and is internationally famous
The origin of Cheung Chau Taiping Qingxian is said to come from a plague in the 18th century, the residents were deeply affected by the epidemic, held a meeting in the Beidi Temple, and held the statue of the Beidi god in hand, fasted for three days, and used a large number of wrapped dots as sacrificial offerings, piled up into a bao mountain, the plague was stopped, and the residents held the Taiping Qingyu on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar every year in order to thank the gods.
Cheung Chau Taiping Ching Yong was officially listed as the third batch of national intangible cultural heritage items in 2011, and since its resumption in 2005, the annual Baoshan Carnival has been well received by the public, with a series of activities such as selection competitions, climbing carnivals and bag grabbing competitions, attracting more than 10,000 participants and thousands of local and overseas tourists.
Photo: Cheung Chau Taiping Cleansing Activities. (Ta Kung Pao Cartography)
Even McDonald's, an American-style fast-food chain, has launched Cheung Chau's limited crispy vegetarian mushroom buns on the island, which will be served before 3pm today.
Cheung Chau McDonald's withdraws from the festival limited crispy vegetarian mushroom buns. (Profile picture)
The Cheung Chau Taiping Qingyu, which has been re-held for 3 years after a long absence, can be described as the "Baoshan Carnival", in addition to the Baoshan training, Baoshan Selection Competition and Baoshan Grabbing Competition, there is also a climbing carnival. Even if you don't have the physical fitness of the bag-grabbing athletes, you can participate in them, such as booth games, handicraft making, comprehensive performances, climbing demonstrations and fun, schoolchildren's coloring and painting competition exhibitions. A variety of activities are designed to let the public understand and experience the fun of bag grabbing together.
Punch 1: Floating color parade
The annual Taiping Qingyi is a local folk festival in Hong Kong. Among them, the "Floating Scenery Parade" is a must-see highlight! It's hard not to applaud the children dressed up in costumes of ancient and modern characters standing on stands and "floating in the sky" on a parade.
What is a Floating Parade? (Ta Kung Pao Cartography)
This year, there are 8 coloured parades, organised by five neighbourhood associations, two sports clubs and one hometown association, with a total of about 19 cars. Children who have already painted their makeup climb a shelf about 2 meters high, and the color master fixes them to the shelf and dresses them in various themed costumes. In addition, the unicorn dance will also be performed in formation, and the scene is very lively.
Cheung Chau is crowded with people. (Photo by Point News reporter)
"Dancing unicorn" means "the wind and rain are smooth, and the country is safe". (Photo by Point News reporter)
Wong Cheng, Director of Floating Colours of the Huihailu Hometown Association, said that two colours were designed this year, one of which is called "Wind Catches", with the theme of surcharges such as bus fares and electricity bills, and some children will play the role of Financial Secretary Chan Maobo, throwing candy to the audience along the parade, symbolizing the hope that the government can help the public "guard the dragon gate" and control the increase of related enterprises. Another colorful theme, "Ambition on Fire", will tell the story of the heroic act of Hong Kong firefighters who flew to help rescue the Turkish earthquake after the earthquake earlier this year.
There are many themes for the floating color parade. (Photo by Point News reporter)
There are many themes for the floating color parade. (Photo by Point News reporter)
There are many themes for the floating color parade. (Photo by Point News reporter)
The weather is hot, and the children on the parade also set up umbrellas. (Photo by Point News reporter)
Punch 2: Grab the Bag Mountain Finals
This Friday (26th) and Saturday (27th) will be the focus of attention, and the final of Baoshan will officially start at midnight (Baoshan's safety bags are made of plastic). The Bun Grabbing Mountain activity originated from the "Sacrifice" ceremony of Tajiao, where the gods are blessed and pray for good weather and safety.
Bag Grabbing Mountain Competition (China News Agency profile photo)
In the "Bag Grabbing Mountain" competition, participants have to race to climb three 14-meter-high bamboo shack bun hills in front of Pak Tai Temple to capture the most buns, and the heartbeats of the spectators are all racing. The final will involve 12 athletes, divided into men's and women's categories, and 12 participants must climb the bag mountain to grab the bun and return to the ground within 3 minutes. In addition, Cheung Chau's clubs will be invited to participate in the relay invitational race. Through this activity, the participating members of the public can have a deeper understanding of the traditional bag-grabbing mountain and local folk customs.
Pictured: The decisive battle of Bag Grabbing Mountain will be held tonight, and the athletes have been preparing for the battle for days, hoping to strive for good results. (Photo by Ta Kung Pao reporter He Jiajun)
Punch 3: Distribute safety bags
At 9 a.m. on May 27 (Saturday, the ninth day of the fourth lunar month), Cheung Chau Taiping Qingyi will distribute tens of thousands of Ping An Packs to the public at Pak Tai Plaza (Ping An Packs are edible), which means peace and well-being, on a first-come, first-served basis.
The peace bag means peace, health and well-being. (Cheung Chau Taiping Kiyo Wing Duty Council FB)
Check-in 4: Cheung Chau must eat famous food
If you have time, visitors can also try Cheung Chau's special snacks:
Gan Yongtai big fish egg
Cheung Chau fish eggs. (Web Photo)
The Pink Pig Music Bar and Restaurant
The Pink Pig Music Bar and Restaurant（网络图片）
Iced coffee
Iced drip coffee. (Web Photo)
Cheung Chau carob cheese hand-shaked
Cheung Chau carob cheese hand-shaked. (Web Photo)
Yoonsheng dessert
Yoonsheng dessert. (Web Photo)
How to get the free admission ticket to Grab Bao Mountain?
Cheung Chau Bag Hill "Pack Hill Carnival 2023" Free admission tickets will be distributed from 10pm on 26 May (Friday), and members of the public can queue up along Ice Factory Road at Beishe Yili on the side of Cheung Chau Fire Station, and each citizen will be given 1 admission ticket, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Members of the public who have obtained admission tickets are required to enter Zones 1 to 4 sequentially from 10:30pm onwards to watch the Games, with a total capacity of 1,400 people, as instructed by the Police and conference staff. There will be a show before the competition and the award presentation that night.
Free admission will be distributed on May 26 at 10 p.m
Free admission ticket distribution location: Beishe Yili on the side of Cheung Chau Fire Station queues along Ice Factory Road
Number of free admission tickets: 1,400
Free admission tickets will be distributed from 10pm tonight. (Web Photo)
Return transportation after the end of the Rush Mountain
A number of transport service operators will make special arrangements on the day and in the early hours of the morning after the Bag Grab Race to facilitate members of the public to return home after watching the Bag Grab Competition:
1. New ferries work overtime for early morning departures
The new ferry operating the Central to Cheung Chau route will be scheduled on 26 May. In addition, to facilitate visitors to return home after watching the "Bag Grabbing Race", the new ferry will operate a special flight from Cheung Chau to Central at 01:15 am on 27 May.
2. KMB and NWFB have set up a tunnel route
KMB and NWFB will set up a cross-sea tunnel bus route 104R from Central Pier 5 to Mong Kok to divert the crowds from Central Pier to Kowloon. Route 104R passes through Jordan and Yau Ma Tei, making it convenient for visitors to return to their residences in Kowloon West and then take other means of transport (including public minibuses) to return to their residences in Kowloon or the New Territories.
3. Some routes of KMB and Citybus will stop at Central Pier
Some overnight bus routes via Central will have temporary bus stops at Pier 5 in Central to facilitate disembarking visitors to return home.
The first bus stops at Central Pier 5 on 27 May until approximately 2:50am:
Citybus Line N8X (towards Siu Sai Wan), Line N90 (towards Hoi Yi Peninsula), Tunnel Bus Line N182 (towards Kwong Yuen), Line N619 (towards Shunsheng), Line N373 (towards Fanling) and Line N368 (towards Yuen Long West)
The following routes will stop at Central Pier 5 at 01:30 on 27 May:
Tunnel Bus Line N930X (towards Tsuen Wan)
The following routes will have a stop at Central Pier 5 at 01:20 on 27 May:
Tunnel Bus Line N952 (towards Tuen Mun)
The following routes will be served at 01:15 and 01:45 on 27 May, with additional stops at Pier 5:
Tunnel Bus Line N962 (towards Tuen Mun)
4. Taxi stands outside Central Pier 5 and 6 will be closed
The downtown taxi station and cross-sea taxi stand outside Central Pier 5 and 6 will be closed from 04:00 - 08:59 on 26 May to cope with the crowds and reduce the road load in the area around Central Pier.
In addition, today is the Buddha's Birthday, there is a festival at the Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island, Po Lin Monastery will hold a "Sui Yuan Zhai" at Po Lin Town Hall from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for those who are destined to enjoy vegetarian fasting for free, and a water basin will be placed in front of the main hall of the Tai Hsiung Hall to enshrine the statue of the prince (i.e. the birth statue of Shakyamuni Buddha), and good believers can bathe the Buddha body in fragrant soup. Ngong Ping 360 will extend its operating hours for three consecutive days from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. starting today.
Today (16 May) is Buddha's Birthday, and there is a festival at the Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island. (Profile picture)
(Source of this article: Ta Kung Pao, Dian News)