Last weekend was Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the important holidays in the Chinese calendar (and a public holiday in Hong Kong). With the group of friends met on the day before and a handful of Montrealers, we set out to Victoria Peak, aka “The Peak”, and Hong Kong Island’s response to our Mount Royal.
As a Canadian and North American, I was pretty surprised to learn on that night that drinking in public parks is alright, especially under the comforting watch of uniformed policemen. The mood of Mid-Autumn Festival reminded me of O-Hanami in Japan and maybe that of Tam-Tams in Montreal (substituting the alcohol for something else).
While I was celebrating at The Peak, my aunt’s little family set out to the beach at Repulse Bay, in South Hong Kong Island. She told me that hordes of teenagers, including a large delegation of foreign ones, invaded the beach with their lanterns, candles and bottles of schtuff.
In the end, I was very glad that the MTR was running the entire night:
