The dragon dancers perform on essential occasions and traditional festivals, such as the New Year Festival or the Autumn Festival. The young men have to train for weeks to bring the dragon to life. Her movements are a combination of athletic skill and ritual symbolism. In Chinese tradition, the dragon is the symbol of prosperity and luck. In this article we discuss some interesting Hong Kong’s culture you must know and why it is so much fun to visit this big city.
Ninety-five percent of Hong Kong’s residents are Chinese.
Their ancestors were mostly immigrants from China, who flocked to Hong Kong in large waves of refugees since the beginning of this century. The separation between the ‘communist motherland’ and the capitalist crown colony (1949) created a world of Hong Kong. This led to the fact that a Hong Kong identity of its own has developed, especially since the 1970s. Their value system combines traditional Chinese norms with modern, western ideas.
Even today
Hong Kong people like to set themselves apart from the People’s Republic of China and maintain their individuality. The Cantonese dialect spoken in Hong Kong plays an essential role in this.
Besides, the British policy of non-interference in Hong Kong Chinese’s social interests has left enough leeway to preserve cultural differences. For example, Chinese traditions such as ancestor worship or belief in the ‘Feng Shui’ doctrine could continue to exist alongside western rationality and modernity. With a few exceptions, there was a peaceful co-existence between the British and the Chinese world in Hong Kong. Of course, they also influenced each other.
Hong Kong has developed into a cosmopolitan, international city with a high standard of living over the past thirty years. Its residents have always been seen as performance-oriented and sophisticated. Hong Kongers – young or old – love to consult a fortune teller to ensure they are making the big decisions in life at the right time. Many fortune tellers can be found in temples, where they often try to determine their customers’ fate with bamboo sticks. Reading by hand or face is just as popular. Fortune telling and belief in metaphysical powers are more than just superstitions – they are an integral part of the traditional way of life cultivated in modern Hong Kong. They are also very respectful people which is very admirable.
However, the development of a common national Chinese identity is the declared aim of the leadership in Beijing. The offspring at Hong Kong schools are to be raised patriotically. School books and curricula have been ‘cleared out’ of colonial heritage.
If you look at many Hong Kong Chinese’s everyday lives, the cultivated lifestyle could be summarized as ‘work hard, eat well and gamble high,’ although the order here can vary. The families often live in cramped conditions; A good education is critical and is seen as the key to professional success and prosperity.
When asked about religious affiliation the majority of Hong Kong residents would reply that they do not belong to any religion. However, religious customs have their place in many people’s everyday lives. Visiting Buddhist or Taoist temples is quite common; Likewise, one often encounters Buddhist shrines in private households and business premises. In Confucian tradition, there is ancestor worship, which has a fixed place in Hong Kong people’s lives as a kind of popular belief.
To have a good ‘joss’ (luck), the pragmatic Hong Kongers often make offerings to all gods.
Christianity came to Hong Kong with the British in the middle of the 19th century. Today there are over 500,000 Protestants and Catholics. They get involved in social areas, run kindergartens, schools, and hospitals.
The famous Wong Tai Sin Temple in northeast Kowloon is dedicated to a Taoist god built in traditional Chinese style. Alongside Buddhism, Taoism has the most considerable following in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong’s cultural scene
is diverse and lively today.
Among other things, the events in China in June 1989 and the return of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic’s sovereignty have made many artists want to discover their own identity as Hong Kongers.
In this context, the Hong Kong auteur cinema’s success, which need not fear comparison with international standards, is an impressive example. Filmmakers like Wong Kar-wai (‘Chungking Express’), Derek Yee, Yim Ho (‘Kitchen’), and Clara Law have long since attracted international attention and won numerous festival prizes. In their films, they use the viewing habits of the Hong Kong audience (kung fu, Cantonese melodrama, gangster film, soap comedy) but deal with different content. Your movies show the feeling of living in a world in disintegration. They take stock of the political and intellectual history and make the question of identity a central issue. They unmask the uprooting and alienation of society,
Another typical Hong Kong cultural product is the ‘Kanto-Pop’ – popular music in the Cantonese dialect, famous in Chinese-speaking Asia. It is of great commercial importance, and its stars like Andy Lau, Aaron Kwok, or Faye Wong are well known.
The promotion of the cultural scene has also been taken into account officially in recent years through events at international festivals and guest performances and the establishment of new cultural cities such as the Academy of Performing Arts and the Hong Kong Cultural Center. The museum landscape can also Let Hong Kong see. The Hong Kong Museum of Art, which houses Chinese antiques, art objects, historical photos, and contemporary art from Hong Kong in four exhibition halls, should be highlighted. (Hong Kong Cultural Center Complex, Kowloon)
Also impressive, also because of its colonial architecture, is the Flagstaff House from 1846, which houses a tea museum.
Red paper strips and squares with auspicious sayings are attached to doors and roofs for the New Year celebrations. The color red symbolizes luck, and the golden characters stand for wealth. For calligraphers, it is high season in the days leading up to the festival. Hong Kong people are friendly and welcome tourists with a smile. If you are planning to visit the city you will definitely love it. Cathay Pacific airline offers the best deals so you can check them out as you plan your trip.