Members of the fire dragon dance team spin balls of joss sticks during the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance, in Hong Kong. - AFP
HONG KONG (SCMP): Thousands of excited Hongkongers and visitors lined the streets of Causeway Bay to watch an expanded fire dragon dance while others waited at the Wan Chai waterfront for the city’s first drone show to mark the Mid-Autumn Festival, the hottest in recorded history.
The Observatory recorded a temperature of 35.7 degrees Celsius (96.3 Fahrenheit) at its Tsim Sha Tsui headquarters at 3pm on Tuesday, the hottest Mid-Autumn Festival since records began in 1884. There was some drizzle in the early evening.
Thousands of people were already waiting at 6pm on Wun Sha Street in Tai Hang for a 67-metre fire dragon made of incense sticks to start dancing at 7.30pm.
“The heat is torturous, but it’s worth it,” said a dining sector worker who only gave his surname, Wu.
“I look forward to the happy vibe of Mid-Autumn.”
Jiangsu tourist Chen Xi shared similar thoughts, adding that she learned about the event on social media.
“I saw footage online and I think it is impressive. I have high expectations for it,” said the accounting worker, who had waited for an hour.
The performance area has expanded westwards compared with last year’s event to include blocks from Lai Yin Street to Warren Street.
Spectators can also expect to see 100 children dancing with another dragon made of 10,000 LED lights. From 10.30pm, the fire dragon will move to Victoria Park, where a lantern carnival has been lighting up the city from 6.30pm until midnight.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional Chinese holiday held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar.
The Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance features a 67-metre fire dragon made of incense sticks.
A thousand drones will illuminate the night sky at 8pm at Wan Chai harbourfront with patterns of rabbits, traditional lanterns and fire dragons – the first Mid-Autumn Festival drone show to be held in the city.
In Wan Chai, hundreds of spectators have gathered at the harbourfront to catch a glimpse of a drone show scheduled for 8pm. Some early birds arrived to secure the best viewing spots, with families, retirees and tourists among them.
Yully Yuk, a 40-year-old clerk, arrived at 6.30pm to get a spot for her two children and her domestic helper. “I have come here because I think the patterns from the drone show will be very pretty,” she said.
“I saw an introduction that there would be such an event before and the weather was okay today, it was also suitable for me to bring my children as long as well. This is why I have decided to come here.”
Despite the drone show being the latest of several such events being held in Hong Kong this year, Yuk said she did not believe it would be boring as she had never seen one before.
Norwegian tourist Martin Lexau, 35, and his son were also eagerly awaiting the drone show, having researched it beforehand.
“This is the first time that we will ever have seen a drone show, normally we are used to fireworks, so for us, this is totally new. I think it is really cool,” he said. “I am really looking forward to it.”
Lexau, who is on the eighth day of a two-week trip to the city, said the government holding more such events would help to attract tourists.
The Observatory earlier said the moon was expected to appear larger than average at a diameter of 7 per cent.
This season’s supermoon should be at its highest point and could come as close as 357,400km (222,078 miles) on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival into Wednesday morning.
Saturn would also be visible in “proximity” to the moon, it added. But poor weather could hamper visibility.
The weather forecaster earlier said the mercury at many places in the New Territories also rose to 34 degrees or above, including in Yuen Long, Sheung Shui and Tai Po. - South China Morning Post
