HKFYG September 2021∣Youth Hong Kong
Tai O Let’s Go! Tai O Cultural Festival 2021 This colourful four-day programme celebrates the local customs and folklore of Tai O, Hong Kong’s famous fishing village on stilts, while introducing visitors to its industries, food and handicrafts.
Tai O Store
A tasty treasure hunt in Tai O village will showcase local attractions with elements of modern design and traditional culture. 70 tertiary students have been recruited to help redesign local store logos, with menus, uniforms and shop layouts to match. Ø Local Tai O food reflects the long history of this Lantau Island fishing village and its distinctive flavours. Shrimp paste stores are stocked with produce of the local factory that has stood for three generations. Dried, locallysourced seafood including mullet roe, squid and shrimp comes from the village’s own drying factory where craftsmen and women have developed their own techniques. Ø Leaflets describing the produce and stores will be given to tourists and visitors and those who collect a stamp from each store will receive a Tai O gift as a souvenir. Meanwhile, young volunteers from the HKFYG Hong Kong Youth Ambassadors will act as guides to local history and the discovery of Tai O culture.
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Stilt Houses
The origins of the local fishing community can be traced back to the Song dynasty. Local people lived on boats before moving into houses built on stilts over the water, known in Cantonese as pang uk [ 棚 ]. The wood used to build them is resistant to rot and their structure reveals the folk wisdom of their builders, withstanding the rise and fall of the tides. Ø An experiential exhibition incorporating the building of an imitation pang uk stilt house will help visitors imagine the lives of the community and their homes. Events such as the catastrophic 21st century fires and typhoons will be presented in a performance illustrating local life.
