Seven Sisters

Seven Sisters Festival - Seventh Moon, Day 7

(August) Click for western date >>

This is one of Hong Kong's most romantic festivals, particularly significant for single girls seeking mates and young lovers wanting a blessing.

The festival has its origin in Chinese folklore dating back more than 1,500 years. The legend features a weaver maid (with six older sisters), who led a lonely life working at her loom throughout the year. Her father, the Heavenly Emperor, felt sorry for her and allowed her to marry a cowherd from across the Milky Way.

After the wedding, she neglected her weaving duties and the Emperor ordered her to return home and visit her husband only once a year - on the seventh day of the seventh moon.

The celebrations centre on religious rites and feature needlework competitions. As part of the worship, young women make offerings to the night sky and the two stars that represent the cowherd and the maid. They usually present fruit and burn joss sticks and incense in the open air, chiefly on rooftops, in backyards and gardens, with the most popular location being Lovers' Stone on Bowen Road in Wan Chai.

Lovers' Stone
Address: Bowen Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong

How to get there:

Lovers' Stone
MTR Wanchai Staton Exit A3, take Bus 15 at Queen's Road East and get off at Hong Kong Adventist Hospital. Walk along Bowen Road for 30 minutes.