It’s been just over two weeks now since I came back to Hong Kong after spending Christmas and New Year's in the United States. And ever since I stepped off the plane, the fervor of the Chinese New Year celebration has been abuzz all around me.
It's now the Year of the Horse, and so one of the first things I noticed upon my return was the prominence of horse statues, posters and drawings all over town!
A painting of a winged horse with "Happy New Year" sayings in Tai Hang
The icon of Chinese New Year has got to be the mandarin orange tree. They are ubiquitous as the holiday approaches, literally on every corner and in front of every apartment, shop and restaurant in the city. Near my apartment in Happy Valley is a nursery that was chock full of them, and I loved passing by and seeing the colorful trees in all shapes and sizes.
The nursery in Happy Valley is blanketed in orange plants leading up to Chinese New Year
Many people buy their orange trees at the famous flower markets that spring up across Hong Kong during the season. The most well-known of these fairs is in Victoria Park, and although I didn't visit the market while it was in full swing this year, I did happen to walk through the park during the week leading up to the festival, and got to watch the diligent workers setting up the bamboo structures.
Setting up the Chinese New Year Flower Market in Victoria Park
We are not amused.
By the way, the weather has been just glorious these past two weeks. In my memory, January is Hong Kong's coldest month. I remember being all huddled up on the deck of the Classica as we sailed out of the harbor two years ago for our Chinese New Year cruise. It's certainly not the case this time around! I can still sit out on the roof during the day in shorts and a t-shirt, and even at night, it's usually perfectly pleasant.
January sunshine on the roof!
It's a very festive time to be in Asia, and the holiday is the most important of all for the local people. But as I've said before, it's also the single best opportunity for an expat to travel out of Hong Kong, since the three days' worth of public holidays give us a generous amount of time off from work. For example, if the public holidays were to fall on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, I could take off from work on Monday and Friday, depart Hong Kong on the Friday before, and return the following Sunday. Think about it: two days from my annual vacation time sandwiching three days of public holiday, plus a weekend on either side and you're looking at nine days to go and do whatever you like! This is why I'd estimate around ninety-five percent of expats normally leave town over Chinese New Year.
This year, however, the timing—for lack of a better word—sucked. The first day of public holiday fell on a Friday, the second on a Saturday (which is technically a business day for many members of Hong Kong's work force) and the third on a Monday. So, understandably, a much larger portion of my friends than usual opted to stay in town this year.
It was actually a perfect excuse for a staycation. It must seem silly that I flutter off somewhere each year when thousands of tourists from all over the world pour into Hong Kong just to be here during this special time. But each year so far, never fail, I had skipped town. First it was off to Thailand to ring in the Year of the Tiger... then to the Philippines to welcome the Year of the Rabbit... Next our cruise to Vietnam ushering in the Year of the Dragon... and last year I was in Singapore and zipped up to Malacca to start the Year of the Snake. Now, for my fifth go at Chinese New Year, I finally got my chance to experience Hong Kong's version of Asia's favorite holiday. And I was determined to do it right.
I met some friends at RED Bar on Thursday night and later we headed to Lan Kwai Fong for a good night out. When I returned home—via MTR, thanks to its twenty-four hour extended holiday service—I was struck by the lights and sounds emanating from the Tam Kung Temple across the street from my apartment. You see, temples in Hong Kong normally close at 5pm, and so once the sun goes down, Tam Kung is simply a shadowy hill. I hardly ever even remember it's there when I go home after dark.
Lan Kwai on Thursday night
But Thursday night was the eve of the holiday, and many locals believe an auspicious beginning comes from praying for good fortune at a temple during the very first hours of the new year. So on this one night, the temples are open into the wee small hours of the morning. At Tam Kung, the incense coils were illuminated by bright lights and people were making their way in and out... and it was 4am!
I was so utterly surprised to stumble upon this scene that even though I was exhausted and had been looking forward to passing out, I felt a renewed sense of excitement and energy. After I had made the six-flight trek up the stairs to the flat, I grabbed my camera out of the drawer and snapped some photos from my bedroom window. I toyed with the idea of going to sleep and then promptly headed back downstairs again to capture the sight from street level.
Looking down on the temple's main hall from my bedroom
The incense coils from the corner of Ventris and Blue Pool Roads
The Tam Kung temple ablaze with light at 4am!
I wandered around quite a bit, shooting it from different angles.
I guess it had to be pushing 5am when I finally got to sleep, but I still woke up pretty early on Friday. Ever since my first days in Hong Kong, I'd heard about the Chinese New Year Night Parade. But of course, each and every year, I'd left town, so this was my first chance to actually see it. I caught the Star Ferry from Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui around 4:30 in the afternoon. Although it wasn't the clearest day (nor the haziest either, God knows), the crossing is always an impressive ride past Hong Kong's skyscrapers.
Over in TST, you could feel the buzz of something special. As I got off the boat, performers were already in costume, warming up for the event in front of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Barricades were in place, signs were up to direct spectators, and I knew it was going to be jam-packed.
Since I was early, I walked the entire parade route to scope out the best vantage point. Starting at the Cultural Centre, I made my way up Canton Road, crossed over at Haiphong Road, and then turned back up towards the harbor along Nathan Road. I even ducked into the Peninsula Hotel and 1881 Heritage on Salisbury Road for a few minutes before heading back up to settle into my spot.
Hong Kong's most famous hotel
The first place I seriously considered stopping was just a ways up Canton Road, where the TST clock tower was clearly visible. I thought it would make a great backdrop for the parade. However, on a downloadable map I had found on the Tourism Board's website, an area further down the street had been designated one of two "best vantage points." So although I hesitated, I ultimately continued moving along.
The TST clock tower from Canton Road
In the end, I followed the map's suggestion, choosing a place just next to the dozens of television cameras set up along the road. I reckoned all the performing groups were going to stop just in front of the cameras to strut their stuff for the tv audience, and I would be right there, too.
It turned out to be a good choice. Although Louis Vuitton is getting free publicity in the background of almost all of my photographs, I had a great view of the action as the parade took place. But the parade didn't officially begin until 8pm, and even after it started, it was still about a half hour before the first float reached my location. I arrived at my front row spot around 5:30pm, which gave me lots of time to kill.
From 5:30 onward, I was both entertained and enraged. Entertainment came in the form of lion dances, marching bands, two athletes who could do crazy things with soccer balls, extreme sports demonstrations, African drummers, an uber-cool "bicycle dragon" and performances by two Hong Kong dance schools. The rage came in the form of the music from a nearby speaker. It was the same two-minute song non-stop for two-and-a-half hours. The local lady next to me said she was going to have nightmares later on about it. Maddeningly, this ditty was circus-themed and simply irritating beyond belief. "Welcome to the circus, you'll see things you've never seen before... Zebras... Even a lion... Have they had their lunch?" Menacing roar, terrified scream, relieved laughter. "Everybody's welcome at the circus. It's a stupendous, amazing show..." Over and over. And over. And over. For two-and-a-half-hours.
The only respite came when one of the performing groups came by, and the circus song would temporarily subside while they did their thing. Then as soon as they passed by, it began again, "Welcome to the circus..." Ugh. I felt like Horst Buchholz in One, Two, Three when the East Germans interrogate him and play Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini endlessly until he confesses to being an American spy. I would have done almost anything to stop that damn song. I can still hear it echoing in my brain. Maybe it will stay there forever. One thing Hong Kong surely knows how to do is to fuse the spectacular with the infuriating.
Lion dance
The bicycle dragon
Anyway, the two dance troupes were particularly effervescent and spirited. The first, the students of the Shelley Lo Jazz and Ballet School, were colorfully decked out in under-the-sea-themed balloon costumes. Their energy was amazing, and no matter how hard I looked, I didn't see a single busted balloon among the thousands that were on display.
Colorful balloon costumes
The second group was the Emma Tse Elite Dance Academy, also colorfully costumed and full of enthusiasm. They began their dance to a classical piece that quickly cut off and turned into One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful. You could tell the youngsters were just having a ball.
For some reason, these groups just kept parading around on a rotating basis... So we were treated to their performances several times. The bike dragon went past again, and then the marching band, the dance troupes, the drummers... Everybody... I remember thinking it would have been better if they had different routines prepared for each go-around, but believe me, seeing their costumes and numbers again was leaps and bounds better than that awful circus song!
Here they go again...
That lady next to me that I mentioned earlier turned out to be a gem of a parade neighbor, and we became fast friends. At one point, the host and hostess of the parade were going around interviewing the spectators, and she made sure they came up to me to get my story. I even gave the crowd my best "Kung Hei Fat Choi" in my American accent. Later on, people along the barricades were given light-up crowns to wear during the parade. Mine originally said "PRINCESS" but my trusty friend spied a female member of the crowd who had gotten a "KING" and made her swap with me. And then, when volunteers were passing out a very limited number of nifty wall calendars commemorating the Year of the Horse, she waved her arms like a madman to make certain she got me one. I'm so grateful she was there.
Finally, around 8:30, the first float of the parade proper approached us. It was sponsored by Cathay Pacific—also the lead sponsor of the whole parade—and suddenly the street was filled with about a hundred stewardesses.
At that moment I realized why it had been such a good idea to stake out a spot by the television cameras. All up Canton Road, the ladies had simply walked on by, but now, all of the sudden, they stopped, music came on, and they began a big production number!
The Cathay stewardesses dancing in the street
The Cathay Pacific float was the first of the evening
The Spirit of Hong Kong
There were more floats that followed, but quite honestly, the floats were just a side attraction compared to the performances. Perhaps most memorable of all was the dragon that came by a little while later. Now, I've lived in Asia for over four years, and I've seen my fair share of dragons. Trust me when I say, I have never, ever seen one like this. The creature had to be about eighty feet long, and it swerved along the street from one side to the other for the dazzled onlookers.
Immediately on the heels of the first dragon were two more, controlled by handlers with long poles. Instead of simply swerving along the road, these dragons "flew" over our heads, while the announcers encouraged us to "gently reach out and touch them to bring good fortune."
As the parade continued, more and more performers—many from overseas—passed by. For example, there were the Toy Stilt Walkers from France and Starlight Alchemy, a fire dance group from Singapore. There were other floats as well, including one sponsored by Hong Kong Disneyland and populated by Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald and Daisy. A Caribbean drum and dance group went by, as did an absolutely adorable group of local children dancing with giant teddy bears. Even the Korea Taekwondo Association performed for us. Each group was different and made its own indelible impression, and the icing on the cake was that they each stopped in front of my spot and showed us what made them special.
A Toy Stilt Walker from France
Fire performers from Singapore
Kung Hei Fat Choi from Mickey and Friends
A Caribbean Celebration
Local kids and teddy bears
The Korea Taekwondo Association
The parade was certainly a full event. In all, there were thirteen floats, and between each float, there were even more performers. Yet another memorable moment was brought to us by the Hong Kong Cheung Keung Martial Arts Association who wowed the crowd with a precariously balanced Lion Dance. You see those purple poles sticking out of the gold base? Well the lion—made up of two men—rapidly jumped around from one to the next, lifting its head up and down. And he pulled it off without a hitch.
At one point, my friend to the right excitedly informed me that her daughter's dance school was approaching. Her camera was out and you could tell how proud she was. (Although she and her husband said goodbye and promptly departed as soon as their daughter had passed by! It's funny how people can come and go in and out of your life so quickly yet leave such an impression. I didn't even catch her name.)
Another sea-themed performance, this one brought to us by the Ocean Park crew, was beautiful. Then there was a drum and dance group from Yamagata University in Japan. Even the US got in on the action with the appearance of the Washington Redskins Cheerleaders. And what I imagine must be a very prestigious Hong Kong dance school put on a sophisticated, professional balletic display with stunning costumes. Even the MTR float was memorable, celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of our subway system, with performers representing a cross-section of the city's workers who use the trains on any given day.
The performers from Ocean Park
Japanese drummers
The Washington Redskins Cheerleaders!
Red and gold are the traditional colors associated with Chinese New Year
The Jean M. Wong School of Ballet
A "nurse" dances as part of the MTR's float
By the way, did you know that Dutch people can ride their bikes and play musical instruments at the same time? Neither did I! But next up was the Bicycle Showband from the Netherlands. Not only could they ride in a straight line while flawlessly playing their tubas and trombones, but they could swerve in between each other in tightly choreographed formations as well. How do you even realize that is a hidden skill? Are you're just riding your bike one day in The Hague, saxophone in tow, and decide to try playing it simultaneously? In a night that just kept on throwing surprises at me, this was perhaps the biggest one.
This blew me away...
The finish to the parade was appropriately colorful and fun, as a pair of Hong Kong groups, Neverland and Red Nose Productions, closed the show with stilt walking, acrobatics and clown performances. (By the way, that circus song played no part whatsoever in the actual parade. I guess somebody just decided it would be fun for the crowd to listen to it on loop while waiting for the real show to start.)
On the whole, the entire extravaganza was simply remarkable. No amount of words or photos could accurately capture the thrill of experiencing it all so close, and seeing as I've already wasted vast amounts of effort attempting to do so with both, I think I'll just go ahead and cut it off here. But, as Constance Porter said, "In a word, wow."
I was plum wore out after the parade. I made a beeline for the Star Ferry back to Wan Chai, hopped on a tram home and was asleep hardly an hour later. But I am oh-so glad to have finally experienced Hong Kong's Chinese New Year Night Parade. I'll truly never forget it.
The next day, I laid low until dusk. My roommate Sarah's birthday was the night before, and as part of her string of celebratory activities, she had organized a picnic and firework viewing party atop Victoria Peak that evening. So I hopped on the bus to the top, and though the traffic was heavy, eventually I made it.
The Peak was packed! In fact, I've never seen it so crowded in all my trips up there. Thousands upon thousands of tourists had made their way to Hong Kong Island's highest locale to see the fireworks. But although most people simply hang around the overpopulated viewing platforms near the Peak Tower and Peak Galleria, the area hides an entire neighborhood of Hong Kong, complete with unknown parks and secret trails.
Sarah had planned her event even higher up, at the beautiful Victoria Peak Garden. This venue was entirely deserted. The only problem, of course, is that the view from the garden is over the southern side of Hong Kong, towards the beaches and Lamma Island. The fireworks were to be set off in the middle of Victoria Harbour to the north!
A few adventurous members of the group set off the find a better perch, and excitedly came running back about ten minutes later to guide us all to the spectacular spot they had found. Up a dark staircase snaking through the heavy woods, all of the sudden, the view opened up revealing the entire city sprawled out before us. You could see the towers, the mountains and, most importantly, the harbor in all its glory!
We had the place all to ourselves, and a little while later, when the fireworks starting exploding at 8pm, it felt like a private party just for us. True, the fireworks themselves were slightly obscured by the nearby hill, but being up on the mountaintop, looking down onto them, made it feel very special. It was a far cry from my normal Hong Kong pyrotechnic experience—usually I'm on the crowded Wan Chai waterfront—and, boy, was it cool to get a different viewpoint this time around.
While the smoke was clearing, we headed back down to the picnic tables of the Victoria Peak Garden, where we indulged in an al fresco feast. It was a perfect follow up to the previous night's parade. One had been hectic and mobbed, the other calm and secluded, and I wouldn't trade the memory of either of them. And what better way to cap off a visit to the Peak than a ride down to Central on the historic Peak Tram! Down in the city below, you can bet I had a good night out in LKF and Wan Chai, setting the new year off to a great start!
I feel so fortunate to have finally experienced a full-on Hong Kong Chinese New Year. Honestly, I have no idea if I'll ever be here again for it, but you can be sure that if I am, I'll follow the blueprint I created this time around. It was a colorful, outstanding celebration with friends, food and fun, and I'll never forget it. Kung Hei Fat Choi everybody, and I wish you all a healthy and prosperous Year of the Horse!
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