Hakka Unicorn Dance
in Hang Hau in Sai Kung
Hakka Unicorn Dance
in Hang Hau in Sai Kung
The activity has been practised for more than 200 years. The Hakka people believe the Chinese unicorn, the qilin, is an auspicious animal that can ward off evil and bring good luck. So, on all celebratory occasions such as Chinese New Year, weddings, birthday parties, the inauguration of an ancestral hall, moving into a new home, welcoming guests, the jiao festivals and birthdays of deities, there would invariably be a unicorn dance. Since the Hakka people brought the unicorn dance, fusing local traditional music and martial arts, with them to Hong Kong, the unicorn dance has developed its own styles and sequence of movements. Hang Hau Hakka unicorn dance was inscribed onto the fourth national list of ICH in 2014.