The central part of Sai Kung has been blocked off for preparations for the annual Tin Ha Festival for some weeks now. The Festival will be held for five consecutive days from the 21 – 25 May, and this year will feature a giant 14-metre-high “Dragon Boat Factory” stage t spanning the plaza, road and basketball court, becoming the focus of the event.
As the only Tin Hau birthday celebration in Hong Kong held in a town centre area with roads closed off, this year’s fair will feature daily Cantonese opera performances by the Prosperity Cantonese Opera Troupe, including classic plays such as “The Dragon’s Decree,” “The Grand Conferment of Titles to the Seven Kingdoms,” and “Wong Feifu’s Rebellion Against the Five Passes.” The main birthday celebration will be on 24 May, with a grand ceremony and a parade of dragons, lions, and unicorns, allowing the public to experience the lively atmosphere of a traditional procession up close.
In addition to the performances, the temple fair also features over 60 food and cultural and creative stalls located on both sides of the stage. Among them, about 20 are cooked food stalls, offering a variety of hot traditional snacks and drinks; the remaining 40 stalls sell temple fair windmills, grains, oils and groceries, health foods and parent-child games.
To deepen the public’s understanding of the history and culture of the Sai Kung Tin Hau Festival, The Kungers will hold an exhibition on the festival at Sai Kung public schools, showcasing relevant historical materials. On 23 May, a guided tour of intangible cultural heritage will also be held, using the Sai Kung Market Tin Hau Temple as a starting point to introduce the evolution of theatrical stage construction and the traditional techniques of building bamboo theatrical stages, leading participants to appreciate this traditional wisdom.
As usual Transport Department have closed off a number of roads in the area over the past few weeks:
Road Closure and Direction Conversion
a) The section of Yi Chun Street from Yi Chun Street Public Toilet to its western junction with Man Nin Street will be temporarily closed to all vehicular traffic;
b) Nin Chun Street will be temporarily converted from one-way southbound traffic to one-way northbound traffic; and
c) The section of Man Nin Street from its western junction with Yi Chun Street to its junction with Nin Chun Street will be temporarily converted from oneway eastbound traffic to two-way traffic.
Traffic Diversion
Affected motorists on Man Nin Street heading for Po Tung Road are advised to access via Nin Chun Street northbound and Man Nin Street westbound.
Green Minibus (“GMB”) Temporary Termini Relocation and Route Diversion
The termini for New Territories GMB Route Nos. 2, 3, 3A, 4 and 4A on Yi Chun Street will be temporarily relocated to Man Nin Street near the promenade. The above GMB routes will be temporarily diverted via Nin Chun Street northbound and Man Nin Street westbound before resuming the original routeing.
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