The enormous bamboo festival stage of the Kam Tin Ten-Yearly Thanksgiving Festival, currently held in Kam Tin, Yuen Long, has been certified by Guinness World Records as the largest temporary bamboo altar globally.
Photo source: FB of Joyce Chan
The Kam Tin Ten-Yearly Thanksgiving Festival is held every ten years. According to the introduction on the Guinness World Records website, the festival is one of the oldest walled village traditional festivals in Hong Kong and has been held 34 times up to now. The main venue of the festival this year is set up at the temporary sacrificial site in front of the Chou Wong Yi Kung Study Hall in the Shui Tau Village. Covering an area of over 40,000 square feet with a height of about five stories, the bamboo scaffolding stage of the festival opens to the public for free.
Photo source: FB of Leisure Photography
Originally used as an altar, the five-storey bamboo scaffolding has been transformed into a stage for performances. During the festival, there will be displays showcasing the recognized intangible cultural heritage of bamboo scaffolding stage construction techniques, and guided tours to let visitors appreciate the glamour of traditional Hong Kong culture.
As the Kam Tin Ten-Yearly Thanksgiving Festival just concluded successfully at the end of last year, the "Kam Tin Thanksgiving Celebration Carnival" followed from January 17th to 23rd, held at the Chou Wong Yi Kung Study Hall in the Shui Tau Village of Yuen Long. The celebration carnival features Cantonese Opera for Deities, lion dance competitions, and a large-scale food stall market, attracting a large number of citizens and tourists to participate and experience this once-a-decade cultural event.
The celebration carnival has attracted a large number of citizens and tourists to participate and experience this once-a-decade cultural event. Photo by Bastille Post
The Hong Kong-style food stall, Photo by Bastille Post
The Hong Kong-style food stall, Photo by Bastille Post
The Thai-style food stall, Photo by Bastille Post
Some stalls attracted customers with free snack samples. Photo by Bastille Post
Based on three core themes: "offer opera performances to deities to thank for their blessing", "food carnival," and "lion dance competition", the celebration event features the seven-day performance of the Hung Wan Cantonese Opera Troupe, which is specially invited by the Kam Tin Rural Committee, in the bamboo opera theatre converted from the bamboo altar that has been officially recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s largest temporary bamboo altar. Renowned Cantonese opera performers such as Leung Siu-ming, Loong Koon-tin, Hong Wah, and Wang Kit-ching, etc. would take turns presenting classic plays, including The Legend of the Purple Hairpin and Between Tears and Smiles, etc.
The Cantonese Opera for Deities on the site, Photo by Bastille Post
The Cantonese Opera for Deities on the site, Photo by Bastille Post
At the site of the event, numerous food stalls featured different regional specialties—from local snacks such as Siu Mai, fish balls, imitation shark fin soup, and Hong Kong-style milk tea, to freshly grilled barbecues like honey-glazed chicken wings and roasted squid. Distinctive kinds of delicacies have been offered with irresistible aroma, making people's mouths water.
The Siu Mai on the site, Photo by Bastille Post
The fish balls on the site, Photo by Bastille Post
The Hong Kong-style candies on the site, Photo by Bastille Post
The Hong Kong-style Tong Sui on the site, Photo by Bastille Post
The barbecue on the site, Photo by Bastille Post
The barbecue on the site, Photo by Bastille Post
On the opening day of the carnival event, top dragon and lion dance teams from Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao competed on the same stage, showcasing each's high-level lion dance skills amidst the beating of gongs and drums. A featured experience area was also set up on site, allowing the public to personally experience the fun of lion dancing and drumming.
The featured experience area of lion dance, Photo by Bastille Post
The featured experience area of lion dance, Photo by Bastille Post
The local residents have enjoyed delicious local snacks and the bustling atmosphere of the grand carnival
Ms. Leung, participating in such a grand folk celebration for the first time, said she was deeply impressed by the grandeur of the giant bamboo theatre. "5 to 6,000 people can sit in this bamboo theatre at the same time, which is really great." Moreover, she said the food stall market was quite attractive, revealing a unique small-town charm. In her eyes, the carnival event not only has convenient transportation based on its easy access to the MTR, but also is filled with an atmosphere of joy everywhere, making people can't help but immerse themselves in it and enjoy the vigorous vitality of traditional folk customs.
Ms. Leung, Photo by Bastille Post
Mr. Sou brought his wife and young daughter to participate, saying that the whole family has enjoyed food and cultural fun on the site. The featured experience area of lion dance has allowed his daughter to "learn while playing", which helps to deepen her understanding of traditional culture and promote the inheritance of traditional Chinese culture to the young generation like her. "There are some lion dance props and drums for children to try and play, letting the traditional culture of China and Hong Kong be better promoted and passed on." Mr. Sou said.
Mr. Sou's family, Photo by Bastille Post
The food stall owner has launched local specialty drinks, attracting a considerable flow of customers and generating substantial business
Mr. Ho, a food stall owner, launched his "Ethereal Blue-and-White Porcelain Specialty Drinks", which has achieved booming business based on the elegant bottle packaging as well as the refreshing and unique flavor.
The Ethereal Blue-and-White Porcelain Specialty Drinks, Photo by Bastille Post
The Ethereal Blue-and-White Porcelain Specialty Drinks, Photo by Bastille Post
Mr. Ho stated that it's his first time participating in the once-a-decade Kam Tin Thanksgiving Celebration Carnival. Thanks to the festival's grand scale, it has attracted a large number of residents and tourists, bringing great popularity to his stall. "Business has been quite good during this period," he said. Moreover, he also mentioned that since the next celebration carnival would be held after 10 years, many citizens and tourists decided to take advantage of the rare opportunity this year to participate, which has made the site of the carnival consistently keep bustling with people.
Mr. Ho, Photo by Bastille Post
The foreign tourist has praised the charm of Hong Kong's traditional culture and been immersed in authentic folk customs
Eduardo, a tourist from Brazil, expressed his deep interest in the giant bamboo theatre and Cantonese opera performances of the carnival based on his background in dance, considering the event as a precious opportunity to experience the charm of Hong Kong's local theatrical culture. He was also impressed by the authentic flavors of Hong Kong's traditional snacks at the numerous food stalls. He hopes more foreign tourists could come to experience Hong Kong's folk customs in person as he does, which would be a valuable cultural immersion.
Eduardo, Photo by Bastille Post
