The once-in-a-decade Taoist Jiao festival in Kam Tin culminated with the burning of a five-metre paper "ghost master" and celebrated a five-storey, 42,000-square-foot bamboo stage that won a Guinness World Record. The multi-day event, dating to 1685, featured lion and dragon dances, Cantonese opera and traditional bamboo craftsmanship. The festival drew thousands and cost nearly HK$20 million (about US$2.6 million) to stage, while also resonating amid debate about bamboo scaffolding safety after a deadly November fire in Tai Po. Organisers and cultural experts say the ceremony reflects villagers' efforts to preserve identity despite urbanisation and falling youth participation.
Burning Effigy and Record-Breaking Bamboo Stage Highlight Once-in-a-Decade Kam Tin Jiao Festival
People burn incense sticks while offering prayers during the decennial Jiao Festival of Kam Tin (Leung Man Hei)(Leung Man Hei/AFP/AFP)
Chanting villagers in Kam Tin paraded a giant effigy through narrow alleys before setting it alight in a once-in-a-decade Taoist Jiao ceremony designed to drive away bad luck and honour ancestors.
Residents dressed the northern corner of the city with towering floral display boards and erected an immense bamboo stage for the festival, a ritual that traces back more than 300 years and is said to have been started by the Tang clan in 1685 to thank officials who helped them reclaim coastal land after evictions.
Guinness Record and Festival Highlights
The five-storey, 42,000-square-foot bamboo stage — built from tens of thousands of poles — earned a Guinness World Record this month as the largest temporary bamboo structure. The festival culminated on Friday when organisers burned a five-metre (16-foot) paper "ghost master" in a vivid ritual witnessed by thousands.
The multi-day event is one of Hong Kong's longest-running traditional festivals and features lion and dragon dances, Cantonese opera, puppet shows and dazzling illuminated boards carrying wishes for good weather and abundant harvests. Organiser Derek Tang said the event took more than a year to plan and cost nearly HK$20 million (about US$2.6 million).
Craftsmanship and Cultural Preservation
Skilled scaffolder Lai Chi-ming and more than a dozen master craftsmen spent roughly two months building the Kam Tin altar, using about 30,000 bamboo and fir poles. Lai warned that losing the centuries-old bamboo craft would be a "great loss" for the city.
Cultural anthropologist Liu Tik-sang said rapid urbanisation has sharpened villagers' desire to preserve local identity. "They really want to preserve their traditions in their own way. The scale of the festival is a statement that this means a lot to them," Liu said. Organisers also expressed concern about declining youth participation and waning interest in traditional culture.
Safety Concerns After Fatal Tai Po Fire
The festival's emphasis on bamboo construction took on added resonance after a devastating blaze in Tai Po District in November that killed at least 161 people. Authorities said the fire at a housing estate undergoing repairs was likely worsened by protective netting that did not meet fire-resistance standards; that netting had been hung from bamboo scaffolding around several tower blocks.
Officials initially suggested replacing bamboo with metal scaffolding but later indicated a full phase-out might not be necessary. The debate highlights the tension between public-safety reforms and preserving traditional skills tied to Hong Kong's built heritage.
"We must not abandon our traditional Chinese culture because of urban development," organiser Derek Tang said, underscoring the festival's role as both a spiritual rite and a statement of cultural resilience.
Help us improve.
