Published : 18/01/2026
Hong Kong's Tai O, known as the "Venice of the East", transforms into a vibrant scene during the Dragon Boat Festival. Residents burn incense and joss paper from their balconies, creating a striking contrast between the vivid dragon boats and the old stilt houses.
This unique cultural spectacle, the "Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade", has been recognised as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
A history of over 100 years
Legend has it that over 100 years ago, when a plague broke out in Tai O (大澳), a fisherman suggested organising a dragon boat ritual to thank the deities and dispel the plague.
So, the fishermen fetched the deities from various temples in Tai O, placed their statues on sampans towed by dragon boats, and paraded through the water channels of Tai O to cleanse the community. The fishermen also burned paper offerings along the route to appease the wandering ghosts, and as a result, the plague was eradicated.
Since then, the "Dragon Boat Water Parade" has become an annual tradition in the Tai O fishing village.
2 opening bridges
Tai O has two opening pedestrian bridges, namely the Tai Chung Bridge (大涌橋) and the Sun Ki Bridge (新基橋), which are opened only on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival each year to allow the deity boats and dragon boats to pass through.
The route of the Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade starts on the sea surface opposite Yeung Hau Temple, then proceeds to the waters of Wang Hang, and subsequently to Tai Chung Hau, a journey that takes about two hours.
In the past, the dragon boats would also parade through Tai O's Yi Chung, Yee Chung, and Sam Chung, but this was cancelled in the early 1980s due to the narrowness of the water channels.
3 fishermen's associations
The Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade is organised by the "Joint Association of Traditional Dragon-Boats in Tai O", which is formed by three traditional fishermen's associations. The three associations are Hap Sim Tong (合心堂), Pa Teng Hong (扒艇行) and Sin Yu Hong (鮮魚行).
Hap Sim Tong is composed of fishermen who operate "Tai Mei Chai" boats (大尾仔艇), mainly catching yellow croakers; Pa Teng Hong is formed by fishermen in small boats who mainly catch mackerel scad; while Sin Yu Hong is an association of fish merchants who purchase and resell the fish catch.
Therefore, the Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade also has the important function of bringing residents together.
In the past, the Dragon Boat Water Parade was led by members of the association with the most abundant catch of the year, but as the fishing industry later declined and Tai O's population dwindled, residents now cast Jiaobei blocks (擲筊), also known as moon blocks or divination blocks, to decide on the leading boat.
The parade of the 4 deities
During the Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade on the Dragon Boat Festival, members of the fishermen's associations visit Yeung Hau Temple (楊侯廟, Marquis Prince Temple), San Tsuen Tin Hau Temple, Kwan Tai Temple and Hung Shing Temple in sequence to retrieve the deity statues, which symbolise the respective deities, for a parade in the community.
From the order in which the deities are received, it can be seen that Yeung Hau (the Marquis Prince) holds the most important status in the hearts of the Tai O people.
Held from the 4th to the 5th day of the fifth lunar month
The Tai O Water Parade is held annually on the Dragon Boat Festival, from the fourth to the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Reportedly, the fifth lunar month is the low season for fishing, and holding the celebration at this time allows the fishermen to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival to the fullest.
6 major ritual steps
As Tai O's annual grand event, the Dragon Boat Water Parade involves six steps and rituals from preparation to conclusion.
First, at the beginning of the 5th lunar month, the fishermen's associations push the dragon boats from the "dragon sheds" where they are stored into the water and row them to shipyards for maintenance to prepare for the water parade. This step is called "pushing the dragons" (推龍 ).
Then comes "receiving the deities" (接神).
On the day before the Dragon Boat Festival, the two major fishing associations, Hap Sim Tong and Sin Yu Hong, will row their dragon boats, towing the deity sampans, to Tai O's four temples to receive the deities, bringing the spirits back to their association bases, known as "dragon grouper" (龍躉), for worship.
The third is "plucking the greens" (採青).
On the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, members of Pa Teng Hong will row a dragon boat to the hillside of Po Chue Tam (寶珠潭) behind Yeung Hau Temple to gather fresh grass, which is then placed in the dragon's mouth, this is considered "plucking the greens".
Next, the association elders perform a ritual called "feeding the dragon" (喝龍), where the blood of a rooster is mixed with white wine and sprinkled onto the dragon's head, tail, and boat body. This act is believed to ward off evil spirits.
The fifth is the main event, the "water parade", which involves a dragon boat towing a deity boat carrying the deity statues on a patrol, burning paper offerings for the wandering water ghosts along the way, while residents of nearby stilt houses welcome the deities by burning incense and worshipping.
After the water parade, dragon boat races are held to entertain both gods and mortals.
Finally is "seeing off the deities" (送神), sending the deity statues back to their respective temples. And the residents will also celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival that evening.
The decline of the fishing industry in the 1970s
In the 1970s, the population of Tai O began to decline due to the sharp decrease in fish stocks in the waters surrounding Hong Kong, the fishing industry declined. Many residents moved to urban areas for work.
The outflow of the young population once created a crisis for the inheritance of the Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade for the Dragon Boat Festival.
To unite the community and preserve the tradition of the Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade, the three fishermen's associations established the "Joint Association of Traditional Dragon-Boats in Tai O" in 2008.
In 2011, the Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade for the Dragon Boat Festival was recognised as a national intangible cultural heritage, further promoting the conservation of this regional grand event.
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