The "Tai Ping Ching Chiu" is part of Hong Kong traditional beliefs and customs.
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The Procession of incense includes flags and banners and is preceded
by a man holding a "spirit summoning flag".
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| Banner |
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As "Tai Ping Ching Chiu" festivals are only organized once every ten years, many overseas residents come back to Hong Kong for such event. For example in year 2006, more than 2000 people, many from overseas, were expected to take part in the five-day "Tai Ping Ching Chiu" in the small coastal community of Shek O.
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Around 11 AM to 1 PM, it is time for all participants and relatives
to have a traditional and vegetarian lunch under the large "Paang"
temporary structure.
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| Vegetarian lunch |
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Many local ladies are working hard to serve and prepare the vegetarian
lunch for hundreds of people.
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| Outdoor kitchen |
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Taai Si Wong has a notebook and acts as the festival's policeman to ensure the ghosts
are behaving and everything at the festival has been completed properly. The effigy of Taai Si Wong
is burnt with joss paper to send him back to hell when the Festival is over.
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| Taai Si Wong |
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The Taoist priests recite passages from sacred books loudly to pacify the area and to drive away evil spirits.
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The Taoist priests has long been practicing
this ritual of sacrifices to wipe away evil and pray for peace and blessings.
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| Taoist priests |
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During the festival Taoist priests are hired to perform rites and puppeteers performed puppet shows on a temporary stage.
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Woman burning joss stick in front of the 7-metre-high effigy, dressed in a traditional Chinese
warrior's costume made of paper.
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| Taai Si Wong |
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Many old cultural festivals, such as the "Tai Ping Ching Chiu", have declined on mainland China but can still be found in Hong Kong.
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Huge billboards announce that a "Tai Ping Ching Chiu" festival is going
to happen.
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| Huge billboard |
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For their "Tai Ping Ching Chiu" festival residents build
temporary structures in which altars for gods were set up. In these
structures, the Taoist rites and theatrical performances take place.
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| Taai Si Wong |
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Facing the altar and the theatre is another structure, with partitions for paper images of Taai Si Wong, an altar for the dead to receive blessings.
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In surrounding villages, banners are also displayed. During the festival, Taoist
priests visit those villages daily.
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| Banner in village |
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About 4000 bamboo poles are needed to build the framework of a 20 000 sq ft opera house,
which is considered small. More than 10 000 are needed to build a big, 100 000 sq ft one. Hundreds
of iron sheets are used for roofs and some walls.
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| Inside Huge opera tent |
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The significance of the "Tai Ping Ching Chiu" festival is not only enhanced by complicated rituals performed by the Taoist priests during the festival, but also by the extensive social activities that bond members and alliances of the community together.
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"Poon Choi" is often served during religious rituals, festivals, special occasions
and wedding banquets in open area of villages.
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| Poon Choi |
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This traditional Basin Cuisine or "Poon Choi" is quite oily but delicious. Poon Choi includes ingredients such as pork, beef, lamb, chicken, duck, abalone, ginseng, shark fin, fish maw, prawn, crab, dried mushroom, fishballs, squid, dried eel, dried shrimp, pigskin, beancurd and Chinese radish. Poon Choi is special in the way that it is composed of many layers of different ingredients. It is also eaten layer by layer.
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Big Basin Dish consists of 15 courses, prepared with a big wok heated with firewood.
Through stir frying, deep frying, boiling, braising and stewing, more than 10 courses are
placed in a big basin. The course on the top is chicken and duck, implying that birds return
to the nests.
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| Poon Choi |
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