Hang Lung As One volunteer team has launched the “Cultural Heritage Series” to let the young generation learn about Chinese cultures. To celebrate the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, the team joined hands with HKYWCA, and visited Po Fu Lam Village with a group of primary students, to learn about its history and try crafting the fire dragon.
The fire dragon dance is one of many traditional rituals for the Chinese nation. There is a saying that local residents stopped a widespread disease by waving “fire dragons” with densely inserted incenses, which eliminated the venomous mosquitos. The fire dragon dance has become an important part of our indigenous culture, and was successfully inscribed onto the third national list of intangible cultural heritage in 2011.
The volunteers and students visited Pok Fu Lam village, one with the longest history on the Hong Kong Island, and learnt about its stories. After the tour came the exciting climax of the event, the fire dragon crafting workshop. From materials selection, skeleton building, to final decoration, the volunteers and the kids tried constructing the fire dragon together. They also learnt about the meaning behind each material. Last but not least, the participants ended the trip with a wonderful dragon dance, by waving a mini fire dragon and playing gongs and drums.
Traditions are not necessarily boring. If one is willing to learn, it is easy to notice that the essence is in fact interesting. HKYWCA would like to express our gratitude again for the effort Hang Lung As One volunteer team paid to preserve our indigenous culture.