Hungry Ghosts

If you walk through the streets you may see people making food offerings and burning things on the side of the street. This is for the Hungry Ghost Festival. The Hungry Ghost Festival falls on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. You can find the Western calendar date here.

According to traditional Chinese belief, the seventh month in the lunar calendar is when restless spirits roam the earth. Many Chinese people make efforts to appease these transient ghosts, while ‘feeding’ their own ancestors — particularly on the 15th day, which is the Yu Lan or Hungry Ghost Festival.

While the festival’s origins are not unlike those of Halloween in Europe, it is also intrinsically linked to the Chinese practice of ancestor worship. For the visitor, it’s a perfect opportunity to see some of the city’s living culture in action, with many people tending roadside fires and burning faux money and other offerings for ghosts and ancestors to use in the afterlife. Food is also left out to sate the appetite of the hungry ghosts.

New small group tour of Lantau launched

We are delighted to launch our newest public group tour. Take a tour of Lantau with us and visit the awe inspiring Big Buddha and the wonderfully quaint stilt village of Tai O. Includes a ride on the famous Ngong Ping cable car, a boat ride through Tai O village and lunch at the UNESCO recognised Tai O Heritage hotel; originally established as a police station in 1902 to combat pirates prevalent in the neighbouring waters. Maximum of 9 people on group tours to ensure an intimate and personal touring experience. This is a far cry from the coach tours of Lantau! Running on Sundays, Tuesday and Thursdays.

The spookier side of history

Some see spooky, some see a snapshot into Hong Kong's history! With graves dating back to the 1840s and including some of HK's key influential figures the Happy Valley Cemetery makes for an interesting detour. Just watch out at this time of year as we are celebrating the Hungry Ghost Festival!

A day trip to Lamma

Escape the city by taking a short ferry to Lamma Island. It's only 25 minutes by ferry. Lamma is known for its spectacular seafood lunches and dinners. If it lives in the ocean you can eat it at Lamma!

The Olympics - advancing education around HK and China

A brilliant post by Aaron Mc Nicholas titled 'How the Olympics advances education'. So, just so everyone is on the same page... Hong Kong is a city of the country of China. But up until 2047, when China has full control over Hong Kong (50 years after the British returned HK to China) , Hong Kong operates separately to China in pretty much every area except defence (HK has no army of its own). That means it has its own Olympic team!