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It’s 10am on the day before the Dragon Boat Festival. Isaac Ng and his father, a former fishman, are helping to lift a boat beside the waterfront of the picturesque fishing village of Tai O.
Together with other villagers, they are taking the dragon boat from the Yeung Hau Temple down to the sea and paddling it to other temples in the village. They have to collect the statues of four deities: Hau Wong, or the Marquis Prince; Tin Hau, Goddess of the Sea; Kwan Tai, God of War; and Hung Shing, God of the Sea. These Chinese deities are closely linked to the village’s rich fishing heritage, and it’s all part of the preparation for the annual Dragon Boat Water Parade that honours the gods and prays for peace and health.
The statues will be greeted by crowds lining the bridges and walkways crisscrossing the village’s canals and waterways, who hope to receive blessings while watching colourful, flag-covered sampans being towed by assorted dragon boats.
Ng, 23, currently works in the aviation engineering industry. He was 15 when he first took part in the traditional parade, and the 2023 event was the fourth time that he has sat beside his father in a dragon boat.
Ng was inspired by his family to pick up the paddle. Many of his cousins and their fathers — who were about the same ages as him and his father — participated in the event and shared a lot about it.
His father and uncles had also taught him the correct posture for sitting and paddling in a dragon boat, so he could maintain a steady, synchronised rhythm with other paddlers.
According to Ng, the parade is so important because it’s a way to not only commemorate the lost souls at sea, but also pray for the safety of those still earning their living from the sea. But the event holds an even deeper significance for Ng, as it’s what connects his family, and is also a historic communal gathering unique to his home village.
Ng’s parents, like many other Tai O villagers, left the remote settlement in the 1970s and 80s for the bustling city, which is where he was born and raised. But ever since he turned six, the family has been making regular trips back to the peaceful village every few months, and especially at major annual festivals.
“The tranquillity makes it a rare place in Hong Kong,” he says. “I love waking up in the quiet stillness of the morning, with a hint of the sea wafting in the breeze and the soft sound of the water lapping against the stilts of the old houses.”
There has been growing public interest in the village’s traditional fishing culture in recent years. “Some villagers have opened their stilt houses to visitors, so they can order food, relax while enjoying the waterside views, and experience what it’s like to be inside a traditional stilt house,” says Ng.
There are also more shops and facilities now, compared with the Tai O from Ng’s childhood. These include an array of speciality food and craft shops, seafood restaurants, cafes and street food stalls, such as the renowned dried salted fish and dried seafood dishes served with spicy and savoury XO sauce.
These changes have not only attracted more visitors, but also helped instil a fresh, more youthful vibe in the historic village. That, in turn, has sparked people’s interest in keeping the stilt houses in good condition and ensuring the village stays relevant, while retaining its tranquillity, for generations to come.
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