Where to Watch Hong Kong's Dragon Boat Races
June 12 is the Tuen Ng festival—also known as Dragon Boat Festival. It’s when the city decamps to the sea for the day to watch teams desperately paddle long, sleek dragon boats to victory. It’s so unique, the Dragon Boat Festival was added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009. Wanna be a part of Intangible Cultural Heritage? Here’s where to catch the pick of the day’s races.
Stanley
The Sun Life Stanley International Dragon Boat Championships continue this year with a record-breaking 250 teams and over 5,000 participants. The competition runs from 8am-6pm as teams paddle head-to-head against their rivals in men’s, women’s and mixed divisions.
As the day goes on, it feels as though the entire population of Lan Kwai Fong makes its home in the neighborhood for the day, so it’s best to show up before noon to grab a good spot on the waterfront. Bus freqencies tend to be boosted on the the day, so it’s not hard to get to. One important note: do not drive. You will never get out.
After a day of sweatiness, go wild in the huge number of restaurants on Stanley’s Main Street as the whole area transforms into one big party. If you’re thirsty, King Ludwig Beerhall (Shop 202, Murray House, Stanley Plaza, 2899-0122) offers a wide variety of German food, pizza and of course, beer. For this hot summer season, the Beerhall is serving a special “Beer Margarita” which we cannot vouch for. We don’t even really know what it is.
Aberdeen
The Aberdeen Dragon Boat Race sees 65 teams competing this year, with races by the Aberdeen Promenade from 8.40am. It’s free, but if you want to get into the bamboo-canopied stand then you’ll need tickets in advance from the Public Enquiry Service Centre of the Home Affairs Department (G/F, Ocean Court, 3 Aberdeen Praya Rd., Aberdeen, 2814-5720).
Want to stick around in the evening? The obvious choice is one of Aberdeen’s floating restaurants. Most have heard of Jumbo Kingdom (Shum Wan Pier Drive, Wong Chuk Hang, Aberdeen, 2553-9111)—established in 1976 and still running today after several renovations (plus the classier Top Deck, on top of Jumbo itself). What you may not know is that if you spend over $600—not hard after a few seafood dishes—Jumbo will cover your taxi fare of up to $80 per table: just show your receipt.