TSING YI BAMBOO THEATRE (青衣戲棚), Tsing Yi (青衣), New Territories, Hong Kong
Being the Goddess of the Sea, Tin Hau (天后) or the Queen of Heaven, is worshiped in many neighbourhoods in Hong Kong, especially at former fishing communities along the coast and outlying islands. That’s why on the 23rd day of the third month in the Lunar calendar, at the deity’s official birthday, about 70 Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong would perform religious rituals to celebrate Tin Hau Festival (天后誕). Some communities would even host neighbourhood fairs and Cantonese opera shows. In a fine May afternoon of 2023, we learnt about the 10-day festive event Tsing Yi Bamboo Theatre (青衣戲棚) was entering its last weekend at Tsing Yi Island. The annual festival celebrates not only the birthday of Tin Hau, but also of Chun Kwan (真君), another local patron saint originated from a military general in the South Song Dynasty (960 – 1279). Tsing Yi is home to Hong Kong’s only temple dedicated to Chun Kwan, and thus it makes perfect sense to host his “birthday celebration” on the island. Without hesitation, we hopped on a bus for Tsing Yi, an island to the northwest of the Victoria Harbour. Named after the once abundant blackspot tuskfish in the area, the 10.69 sq.km island is home to roughly 200,000 people, a container port, a series of heavy industries, and the world’s 16th-longest span suspension bridge.
It was our first time to visit the festival fair in Tsing Yi. We had no idea what to expect. Occupying the entire Tsing Yi Athletic Association Sports Ground and Soccer Pitch, the fair was larger than what we expected. The grand bamboo theatre was especially impressive, whose front elevation was covered with seven large flower plaques (花牌). While most visitors were busy queuing for fried snacks and drinks, we were excited to check out the religious altars, traditional flower plaques, and of course the bamboo theatre. Light, cheap, durable and environmentally sustainable, bamboo has been used as construction materials in this part of the world for centuries. Today, bamboo theatres are still being erected to celebrate Dajiao Festivals (太平清醮), Hungry Ghost Festival (盂蘭節) and Tin Hau Festival (天后誕), and have become an iconic cultural heritage of the city. They have even become a popular subject for architectural studies, documentary films, and heritage conservation. Probably due to the intense labour and complex skills involved, lesser and lesser people are joining the bamboo construction industry nowadays. Unsurprisingly, bamboo theatres are becoming pricier than temporary steel structures. Yet, many festival organizers and Chinese opera troupes still prefer bamboo structures over the metal counterpart. As long as there is demand, perhaps bamboo theatre would still be erected in Hong Kong.
In the evening, for those who didn’t have tickets like us, standing right by the theatre was the only way to get a peek of the Cantonese opera performance. The audience was predominately elderly from the local neighborhood. For the younger generation, these performances offer a connection to the bygone era of their parents and grandparents, and a window to learn about their own cultural heritage. After watching for a few moments, we decided to wandering around the fair a bit more, and tried some of the grilled squid, stinky tofu, faked shark fin soup, sweet red bean soup…
IN SEARCH OF FESTIVE GOODIES, Lunar New Year (農曆新年), Hong Kong
It is common to host gatherings at home during Lunar New Year. To welcome families and friends, a Goodie Box, or Chuen Hup (全盒) is essential. Usually filled with candies and festive goodies, the tradition of Goodie Box could be traced to the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). Different generations and regions have their own custom on what goes into the box. When we were young, Goodie Boxes in Hong Kong were usually circular lacquerwares, mainly red and black in colour. They were often filled with sugar coated dried fruits, melon seeds, Sugus candies, chocolate coins, fried dumplings, sesame cookies, etc. As lacquerware became more expensive, plastic boxes have become a popular alternative in recent years. To revive the Goodie Box tradition at home, we took on the quest to find a Goodie Box that could better represent the heritage of Hong Kong than the contemporary plastic boxes.
In a fine afternoon of 2021, after picking several calligraphy fai chun (揮春) from “Uncle Tim”, we crossed the Harbour to Kowloon Bay and ventured into an industrial building to look for Yuet Tung China Works (粵東磁廠), Hong Kong’s last stronghold of hand-painted Cantonese porcelain (廣彩). Established in 1928, Yuet Tung was once the largest porcelain maker in the city. In its heyday, the company was home to 300 craftsmen, exporting porcelain tablewares and vases all over the world, including Japan, Europe, and North America. Since 1970’s, sales of Cantonese porcelain significantly declined due to rising concerns on lead and other heavy metals in painted ceramics. Today, only a handful of craftsmen left in the industry, though there seems to be a small revival in recent years as Cantonese porcelain has been successfully promoted as a unique cultural heritage, and some fine pieces have made their way into museums and design shops. Finding porcelain items at Yuet Tung was like treasure hunting in a cramped antique shop. Tableware of different sizes and styles were piled up on shelving from floor to ceiling. We had to be patient, attentive and somewhat lucky in order to encounter the items we desired. At the same time, we needed to stay vigilant to watch where we stepped our foot and rested our elbow in the cramped aisles. At the end, the owner came to assist us on finding a ceramic Goodie Box that suited our purpose.
Choosing snacks to fill up the box is much simpler, but still requires effort and time to pick them up from different shops. Despite all the troubles, getting the Goodie Box ready and filling our counter and fridge with festive food are definitely something that we always look forward to every year.
URBAN HILLS OF HONG KONG: TSING YI PEAK (三支香), Tsing Yi (青衣), New Territories, Hong Kong
We grew up in an era when the container port in Hong Kong was the world’s busiest (1987-1989, 1992-1997, 1999-2004). The main port facility, known as Kwai Tsing Container Terminals (葵青貨櫃碼頭), is clustered in Kwai Chung (葵涌), Stonecutters Island (昂船洲) and Tsing Yi Island (青衣) along both sides of the narrow Rambler Channel (藍巴勒海峽). Whenever we find ourselves on the expressway to and from the airport, we would always look out the window when our vehicle passes by the container terminals. We love to watch the containers being moved and stacked like pieces of toy blocks. Yet, it was always a brief encounter, leaving us no time to photograph the unique scenery until a fine November day in 2020, when I hiked up Tsing Yi Peak for a birdeye’s view of the container terminals. Referring to the three peaks, Tsing Yi Peak is also known as Sam Chi Heung (三支香), which literally means “three joss incense sticks.” Overlooking the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals at 334m above sea level, Tsing Yi Peak stands as the perfect platform to have an overview of the port.
It didn’t take long to reach the first peak of Sam Chi Heung, putting me right in line with Tsing Yi South Bridge and a large warehouse building. The middle peak offered me a glimpse of the oil refinery facilities on the other side of the island. But it was the third peak that was the most impressive, where the panorama of the entire Rambler Channel and container terminals was completed unfolded, from Stonecutters Bridge (昂船洲大橋) all the way to Tsuen Wan (荃灣). Beyond the container terminals, the skyline of West Kowloon and Hong Kong Island stood as a hazy backdrop. I stood at the south peak lookout for quite some time, just to take in the breathtaking scenery and observe the operations of the container terminal. Looking at the crisscrossing water channels, suspension bridges, elevated expressways, flyovers, and container docks made me appreciate even more for all the efforts involved to move things around the world.
YUEN TSUEN ANCIENT TRAIL (元荃古道), Tseun Wan (荃灣), Hong Kong
Linking the village of Yuen Long (元朗) and Tseun Wan (荃灣), the Yuen Tsuen Ancient Trail was once a major route for farmers from Yuen Long to bring out their produces to the market in Tseun Wan. Today, it is a pleasant hiking trail that leads visitors to enjoy the scenery of Tai Lam Country Park (大欖郊野公園), former villages such as Tsing Fai Tong (清快塘) and two of the city’s longest bridges: Ting Kau Bridge (汀九橋) and Tsing Ma Bridge (青馬大橋).
Our hike began from Tsuen Wan West Station and passed by Tsuen Wan Adventist Hospital to reach the trailhead.
Soon the trail led us up the hill of Ha Fa Shan (下花山). The path was well paved with stones.
The narrow Rambler Channel (藍巴勒海峽) between the island of Tsing Yi (青衣) and Tsuen Wan (荃灣)/ Kwai Chung (葵涌).
Known as one of the world’s busiest port, Hong Kong’s container port is located right at the channel.
Further down the road the trail led us further west where we were treated with great views of Ting Kau Bridge (汀九橋) and Tsing Ma Bridge (青馬大橋), two of the city’s most important bridges connecting the metropolis with its international airport.
Another highlight of the trail came as we arrived at the former village of Tsing Fai Tong (清快塘). The village used to be a 200-year old Hakka village of the Fu clan. Today, most villagers had moved to the new village at Sham Tseng (深井), about 45 minutes form their former home.
In 2002, a family of former villagers returned and set up a farm called Parent Farm (喜香農莊) at Tsing Fai Tong. Many hikers stopped at the farm to enjoy their seasonal flowers and beautiful lily pond.
We came at the perfect moment of the year to enjoy the waterlilies.
While hikers enjoyed the waterlilies, their pets got a chance to have some fun at the farm.
From Tsing Fai Tong, we chose to end our hike at Sham Tseng (深井) right in front of Tsing Ma Bridge (青馬大橋).
Under the shadow of the busy highway Tuen Mun Road, the village of Sham Tseng (深井) is a well known village in Hong Kong.
Other than its view of Tsing Ma Bridge, Sham Tseng (深井) has been famous for roast goose for decades.
We couldn’t resist but to end our day with the famous Sham Tseng roast goose for dinner.
Blue Lapis Road 