Tai Hang is also the name of an area in Tai Po. See Tai Hang (Tai Po)

Tai Hang (Tai Po)

Tai Hang is an area in Tai Po, Hong Kong.The area counts several villages, including two walled villages: Chung Sum Wai and Fui Sha Wai ....

.

Tai Hang (Chinese: 大坑) (Meaning: The Big Water Channel) is an area southeast of Causeway Bay

Causeway Bay

Causeway Bay is a heavily built-up area of Hong Kong, People's Republic of China, located on the Hong Kong Island, and covering parts of Wan Chai and Eastern districts. The Chinese name is also romanized as Tung Lo Wan as in Tung Lo Wan Road...

 located in the mid-north of Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Island

Hong Kong Island is an island in the southern part of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km², as of 2008...

 in Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

. The area is mainly residential.

Geography

Tai Hang is a valley with opening to the reclaimed Causeway Bay in north and So Kon Po

So Kon Po

So Kon Po is located in the south of Causeway Bay and Victoria Park on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong, neighbours upon Caroline Hill and Jardine's Lookout....

 in west. Its south and east are hills. The former coast is marked by Tung Lo Wan Road

Tung Lo Wan Road

Tung Lo Wan Road is a road in Causeway Bay and Tai Hang on the north side of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. The road joins east with King's Road, Tin Hau Temple Road, Causeway Road and west with Yee Wo Street, Irving Street, Leighton Road and Causeway Road.The road draws the early shore line in...

 and the main road Tai Hang Road

Tai Hang Road

Tai Hang Road is a major road on the north side of Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. Starting low from Tai Hang at Tung Lo Wan Road, Causeway Bay, it winds up to So Kon Po and further up to the mid-levels of Jardine's Lookout and Mount Nicholson, passing through Wong Nai Chung Gap...

 winds in the hills throughout the area.

The area of Tai Hang is divided into hilly south and plain north. The hilly area includes a public housing estate Lai Tak Tsuen

Lai Tak Tsuen

Lai Tak Tsuen is a housing estate at 2 - 38 Lai Tak Tsuen Road, Tai Hang, Eastern District, Hong Kong. Built in 1975, it is one of the first public housing developments in Hong Kong. It was the second self-funded rental project of the Hong Kong Housing Society...

 and some highrise residential blocks for affluents, such as Illumination Terrace (光明臺)(5-7 Tai Hang Road) or Grand Deco Tower (帝后臺)(26 Tai Hang Road). The plain south is full of old residential blocks, with a number of interesting restaurants along the streets. Its named after a stream (or drainage) from nearby hills.

Features

One interesting recent development in the plain north is that many new and special restaurants were opened, making Tai Hang a hot spot for dining and leisure.

The famous Tiger Balm Garden

Tiger Balm Garden (Hong Kong)

Tiger Balm Garden , also called Aw Boon Haw Garden, was located at 15, Tai Hang Road, Tai Hang, Wan Chai District, Hong Kong. The garden was adjoining the Haw Par Mansion and its private garden. The Tiger Balm Garden was demolished for redevelopment in 2004...

 and Lai Tak Tsuen

Lai Tak Tsuen

Lai Tak Tsuen is a housing estate at 2 - 38 Lai Tak Tsuen Road, Tai Hang, Eastern District, Hong Kong. Built in 1975, it is one of the first public housing developments in Hong Kong. It was the second self-funded rental project of the Hong Kong Housing Society...

 is also located in the area.

The Lin Fa Temple is located at the end of Lin Fa Kung Street. It was originally built 1863, during the Qing Dynasty

Qing Dynasty

The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....

, and was reconstructed in 1986 and 1999. The original use of the temple was a worship place for Kwan Yin, the goddess of mercy.

Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance

For the three nights straddling the Mid-Autumn festival

Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival , also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival or Zhongqiu Festival, is a popular lunar harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people. A description of the festival first appeared in Rites of Zhou, a written collection of rituals of the Western Zhou...

, visitors can also see the spectacular Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance. It's a 67-metre-long 'fire dragon' that winds its way with much fanfare and smoke through a collection of streets located in Tai Hang, close to Victoria Park

Victoria Park, Hong Kong

Victoria Park is a public park in Hong Kong, named after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. It is located in Causeway Bay, on the north of Hong Kong Island, between Causeway Bay and Tin Hau MTR stations...

 in Causeway Bay. The Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance started in 1880 when Tai Hang was a small Hakka

Hakka people

The Hakka , sometimes Hakka Han, are Han Chinese who speak the Hakka language and have links to the provincial areas of Guangdong, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan and Fujian in China....

 village of farmers and fishermen on the waterfront of Causeway Bay. This custom has been followed every year since 1880, with the exception of the Japanese Occupation

Japanese occupation of Hong Kong

The Japanese occupation of Hong Kong began after the Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Mark Young, surrendered the territory of Hong Kong to Japan on 25 December 1941 after 18 days of fierce fighting by British and Canadian defenders against overwhelming Japanese Imperial forces. The occupation lasted...

 and during the 1967 disturbances.

According to local legend, over a century ago, a few days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, a typhoon and then a plague wreaked havoc on the village. While the villagers were repairing the damage, a python entered the village and ate their livestock. According to some villagers, the python was the son of the Dragon King. A soothsayer

Fortune-telling

Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. The scope of fortune-telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination...

decreed the only way to stop the chaos was to stage a fire dance for three days and nights during the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival. The villagers made a huge dragon of straw and covered it with incense sticks, which they then lit. Accompanied by drummers and erupting firecrackers, they danced for three days and three nights – and the plague disappeared.