Dragon Boat Festival
I have been trying to arrange things to be in Hong Kong during the Dragon Boat Festival, and specifically the Aberdeen events.
Finally, this year, everything aligned, and yes, that includes the infamous weather gods, so with the rain finally stopping, I headed off.
The trip there is minor, just a quick ferry ride from Discovery Bay, followed by a walk to the Exchange Square bus terminal to the number 70 service.
Yes, I said bus, and no, I am not joking; the HK buses are excellent and basically free to ride; with the ride from the bus terminus to Aberdeen being about 30 minutes, the fare was under HK$10, which is about AUD$2. Back home in Sydney, that trip would be way more expensive.
Ok, enough of the public transport minor rant.
So, arriving at the Aberdeen promenade, it was not as crowded as expected. I had expected a repeat of the Kowloon New Year's Eve nightmare, but no, you could actually get to the waterfront.
From talking to several people, it seems that this year, the police put the barriers closer to the waterside than last year, when they were about a meter back.
Darn, I was a little late arriving, so I missed the extra-long dragon boats going through the races. When I arrived, they were finishing off.
Yes, I said extra-long, and I really mean it; these are 90 feet long, whereas the normal ones are much smaller. I'll have more on this later, as I need to do some research.
Being a little late to the party, I was talking to some locals, who let me know the normal-sized boat races were about to start and pointed me in the right direction.
While the crowds were heavy, no way as bad as they could have been, so off I went, and I even got a spot fairly close to the races.
Long lens in hand, er, well, it's 200mm, but still better than some.
While on the subject, one of the things I really like about HK is the popularity of photography, and this festival is a classic example. Many people were using very high-end cameras, lenses, etc.
Photography being what it is, multiple people saw me wandering with my D850 and 200mm lens and struck up conversations.
Just as the first race started, the sun went in. AH, those weather gods really hate me. ⛈️
But still plenty of opportunities for photo ops, and so far the rain had held off, although the sky was looking ominous.
The rain started after I managed to see a few races and took a few more photos, so I decided to head for Stanley and see what I could see with the races there.
Heading for the bus stop, I came across something unexpected outside what looked like a motorcycle repair shop.
These guys are popular, as while waiting for the bus, many people stopped to say hello, and the cats seemed to enjoy the attention. Someone, who I think may have been the owner, pointed at them and said with a smile, Security 😂
Anyhow, the bus arrived and off to Stanley.
Well, that was a fun trip, a totally packed bus vs narrow and twisting streets, but still, I got to see more of HK island than usual. So worth the trip.
Getting to Stanley, it was packed worse than I have ever seen, with the police directing people.
Regardless of the crowds, I headed down the hill.
The bad news was that it got even worse the further down the hill I went, so there was zero chance of seeing anything here, let alone taking photos.
Now, why did they not hold the races on the other side of Stanley, where there is a wide-open waterfront?
Oh, well, it's Stanley, so it's time to look around the markets.
Take two top
Roll forward to 2026, and I was in Hong Kong again, planning to visit the races again, and this time it was well planned to make sure not to miss anything; however, those weather gods decided to really mess with me.
The days up to the start of the festival, Hong Kong was hit with heavy rain, storms, and just about everything short of a typhoon direct hit. Think multiple black rainstorm warnings, which are about as bad as it gets.
At least there is a well-developed warning system; just look at this photo at the top, are warning icons, which in this case show rain, amber rainstorm, thunderstorms, and 31°C.
The result: no festival for me, not that there was anything announced for Aberdeen, nor could I find anything on the internet with the status of the races. Nope, I did not go to Aberdeen anyway, as the thought of walking around in the rain with my DSLR and 500mm lens was not something I would even consider.
I did go have a look at the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront from the other side of the harbour, which usually has races also, but no sign of anything.
What I did do was to head out to Stanley to see what was happening out there, not expecting anything. Interestingly, it seems the races out there were still happening, and given how crowded it was, everyone who would have gone to the other locations decided to go to Stanley.
Final Thoughts & Verdict top
Ok, this visit was a little disappointing, but nothing to do with the festival, but more with my planning, which meant I missed the long dragon boat races. Oh well, next time I will make sure it's better planned.
On the plus side, the atmosphere was electric, and that was for the shorter boat races; just imagine what it would be for the long boat races.
Yes, it was crowded, but not excessively, and as I said earlier, the police put the barriers closer to the water, which opened up more space for the visitors.
With my next trip back to Hong Kong hopefully in 2027, I will try to make sure it covers the festival dates, and try to be nice enough to those weather gods that they may give me sun for the races. Expect updates.