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In pictures: the underworld’s gates open for Hungry Ghost Festival in Hong Kong
Incense fills the streets and bamboo theatres are erected ... here’s a look at how Hong Kong has marked the return of the spirits over the years
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Once a year, the streets of Hong Kong fill with the scent of burning paper offerings, the haunting sounds of Chinese opera echoing from bamboo theatres in observance of the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yulan Festival, traditionally held on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. Buddhists and Taoists believe that during this “ghost month”, the gates of the underworld open and spirits return to the living world.
To appease these wandering souls, Hongkongers prepare food, incense and paper money, and other offerings for the spirits to enjoy in the afterlife. Families present these offerings at temples, street corners or outside their homes, seeking blessings and protection by nourishing the ghosts. Community organisations erect bamboo theatres and host Chinese opera performances – staged as much to entertain the spirits as the live audiences.
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