Dragon dance burns brighter

For 130 years, the fire dragon dance has coiled through the streets in Tai Hang, leaving a trail of blessings in its wake. Once lined with Hakka village houses, modern housing has taken their place, leaving little room for its Hakka roots.

But in June Unesco declared the fire dragon dance an intangible national cultural heritage and the performance yesterday, the first of the three-day Fire Dragon Dance, marked a historic moment.

Yuen Kwai-sum, 55, has been lifting the dragon head for two decades, and was ecstatic about the festival's new cultural status.

'The number of people involved has gone up by half, so have the spectators. We are so happy,' he said.

Yuen has no doubt about the dragon's healing power. 'During Sars, I kid you not, after we sent nine fire dragons out to the different districts - Sars was gone,' he said. 'Keep a strand of the dragon's beard on you for one year, and no illnesses can touch you.'

Legend has it that in 1880, the fire dragon dance cured the Hakka village of its plague. The type of grass used is known to have a therapeutic effect. The plague left the village after the dance and has continued as a tradition. Free of the plague now, the fire dragon purges Tai Hang of 'uncleanliness' - or evil spirits - and at the end of the parade on the last day, the dragon head is tossed into the Causeway Bay harbour as a ceremonial send-off.