Dancing with fire

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It has been this way for centuries. Every year, on the 15th evening of the eighth lunar month, the small, secluded Hong Kong neighborhood of Tai Hang is the center of an awe-inspiring dance of the flames.

That evening was yesterday - and I was lucky to be one of the many running around the narrow alleys, while a 67-meter blazing dragon was carried around by 300 local men.

The ceremony is part of the traditional Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival, where the city parks are filled with lit paper lanterns and  where friends and families gather to enjoy an evening of the full moon.

In the parks, it is a family event - in the alleys of Tai Hang it is a ritual of flame and fury.

You first hear the drums and gongs - and then the beast, the mighty dragon, winds its way with burning cput into its long hemp-rope spine. It is prompted along forward by two so-called 'pearls', two burning balls of fire swinging on the end of long sticks.



 



Sometimes the procession moves slowly - as on my video below, sometimes it takes up speed and does intricate movements, which the locals tell me are called 'the double-pillar mount', 'the awakening' and 'the circling'.

Sometimes it is even actually quite frightening, when the dragon is running and the fireballs whirl around you and you do not feel safe




Afterward, the performers enjoy traditional Chinese cakes - and for the rest of us, a bit scared and quite thirsty:


Tai Hang is, although practically unknown to travelers, one of the most charming neighborhoods of Hong Kong - filled with a mix of auto mechanics, mom-and-pop shops - and some very good local eateries and bars.

A cool craft beer on the expat favorite of  'Buddy' - and I'm ready to explore further out into Hong Kong's Mid-Autumn festival.

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