Party on the beach

In the first installment of her series on Hong Kong's outlying islands, Faye Bradley revisits some of the time-honored island festivals and finds out about newer ones that celebrate local traditions and environments.

By Faye Bradley | HK EDITION | Updated: 2024-11-01 14:43

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Sharp Island, also a highlight of the Sai Kung Hoi Arts Festival, is part of Hong Kong's Geopark area. It is home to spectacular geological formations, such as the type fondly called "pineapple bun rocks" after a Hong Kong delicacy. [PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY]

Tradition and topography

Besides the traditional festivals, Hong Kong's islands have also been playing host to a variety of more recently introduced ones, though many in the latter group are about rediscovering and celebrating local traditions. Visitors to such events, often organized with active support from the islanders, get to sample local customs firsthand. The benefits are twofold. While visitors are likely to leave the island with a deeper appreciation of its heritage, their participation, in turn, ensures that local folk traditions continue.

Yim Tin Tsai in Sai Kung district remains pivotal to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government's plan to attract tourists. In 2019, the city's Tourism Commission launched an innovative three-year pilot tourism project with the island at its center. The Yim Tin Tsai Arts Festival was aimed at transforming the island into an "open museum", besides giving visitors a fresh and distinctive travel experience that seamlessly integrates arts, religion, culture, heritage and environmental elements.