Imagine a city where every corner, every street, and every season holds a celebration waiting to unfold. Hong Kong isn’t just a city with festivals—it’s a city defined by them.
From discovering the finest wine collection at the Wine & Dine Festival to having an unparalleled gastronomic experience at the Taste Around Town, from enjoying Christmas at the Hong Kong Winterfest to unraveling the history behind the Dragon Boat Festival—you name it, and Hong Kong has it all.
These festivals are more than events in your calendar—they are living, breathing expressions of Hong Kong’s soul. Are you ready to uncover Hong Kong's heartbeat through its celebrations? Let’s begin!
From lanterns to fireworks, feel the Hong Kong pulse with these 10 Best Festivals in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival
📍 When: 23 to 27 October, 2024
📍 Where: Central Harbourfront Event Space, Hong Kong Island
With the backdrop of Victoria Harbour against Hong Kong's iconic skyline, the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival, a five-day event from October 23 to 27 2024 is all about discovering the finest wines, best gourmet food, and accumulating unparalleled experiences. From artisanal delicacies to Michelin-starred offerings, from craft beers to cocktails, from world-renowned wineries, you will find everything in these 300 tasting booths from 35 countries at the Wine & Dine Festival 2024.
This event will also showcase emerging stars including Chinese wines and spirits from Ningxia, Yunnan, and Shandong. With a modest additional charge, you get access to the Harbour lounge & get astounded by the mesmerizing view of Victoria Harbour accompanied by a cocktail prepared by star bartenders on the spot. Don't miss the thematic zone such as Culinary Stars showcasing 12 chefs from Michelin-starred restaurants. Not just this, the 5 day-long event will also host Halloween week, bring in Happy Thursday deals, and innumerable festival stages to keep the entertainment fever high.
Taste Around Town
📍 When: October 28 to November 30
If a culinary celebration is what your soul’s searching for then the Taste Around Town event in Hong Kong is an absolute must. More than 400 restaurants and bars serve the best of their gastronomic delights with unbelievable discounts, special menus, and eclectic-themed cocktails for almost a month at a stretch.
Some of the unmissable parts of this event include the HK Bar Show where you will embark on a bar exploration journey only to be rewarded with the best from Hong Kong’s top 70 bars. There are Mystery Signature drinks, secret missions to be a part of, exciting badges to earn, and a month-long adventure of exploring the extravagant bar scenario of Hong Kong.
Are you ready to savor some delectable cuisine? Over 200 restaurants across the entire city come together and flaunt their diversity in the food landscape of the city at the Chill E.A.T. event during the Taste Around Town festival. Encounter flavors you have never tasted before and cuisine you have never heard of before, all while enjoying up to 30% discount.
Gift your inner wine connoisseur a treat of a lifetime at the Lan Kwai Fong’s Sip & Savour in LKF event. Imagine the lavishness of enjoying 24 restaurants and bars offering 15% discounts on selected menus while serving the best food, signature cocktails, and unique wines on a sleepless night full of entertainment.
Come and be a part of Taste Around Town, an intangible part of Hong Kong’s most popular cuisine where every visitor gets a glimpse of the city's rich and glorious local dining culture.
Clockenflap Music & Arts Festival
📍 When: November
📍 Where: Central Harbourfront Event Space, Central
Are you the kind who is always on the run to find entertainment, music, and arts? Then Clockenflap, Hong Kong’s biggest international outdoor music and arts festival is just for you. This world-class festival is the finest reflection of Hong Kong’s modern cultural scene and creativity. From international headliners to regional stars from rock to jazz to alternative music, Clockenflap Music & Arts Festival has it all. This year, the Clockenflap Music & Arts Festival will be held on 29 Nov (5 PM to 10:30 PM), 30 Nov (Noon to 10:30 PM) & 1 Dec (Noon to 10:30 PM), 2024 and headlined by Jack White from The White Stripes. Indie band Glass Animals will also be performing.
Clockenflap isn't just about music and musicians, it encompasses a lot about visual and performing arts. The moment you enter the festival ground, the mammoth art installations will grab your eyeballs and the interactive exhibitions will make your experience more immersive, adding a pinch of varied color to the festivities. The location of the festival Central Harbourfront, with the iconic Hong Kong skyline as the stage backdrop, is a cherry on top. Buy your tickets for Clockenflap directly from Ticketflap.
Hong Kong Christmas & New Year
📍 When: December 25th (Christmas), December 31st to January 1st (New Year), Late November to Early December (Winterfest)
📍 Where: Celebrated citywide & Harbourside Lawn West, Art Park, West Kowloon Cultural District (Winterfest)
Hong Kong becomes all glittery during this time of the year - Christmas and New Year. All of Hong Kong gets decked up in its glittery winter attire, especially with the beginning of, the Hong Kong Winterfest, starting from late November 2024 to early 2025. During Winterfest, the festive atmosphere in the city oozes out through all its corners - from magnificent light and music shows to the most awaited WinterFest Harbourfront Pyrotechnics - Christmas in Hong Kong starts a month earlier with Winterfest.
To make the most of Christmas, take a tour and explore high-end restaurants in Hong Kong offering unique dining experiences, participate in themed tours, and click an Instagram-worthy selfie at the giant sparkling Christmas trees. Expect to be overwhelmed with festivity as you maneuver the various offers from top-tier shopping malls, experience exclusive meals at gourmet restaurants, and shop at Christmas markets the Christmas Village Pop Up at K11 Musea or Stanely Market’s ‘Chillmass by the Sea’.
For New Year, the Victoria Harbour New Year Countdown is as iconic as the city itself. The colorful pyrotechnics, the lively crowd, and the unending entertainment make New Year a festivity you cannot miss in Hong Kong.
Chinese New Year (Lunar New Year)
📍 When: January or February (1st day of the 1st lunar month)
📍 Where: Celebrated all over Hong Kong
Chinese New Year, aka the Lunar New Year, is one of the most awaited festivals in Hong Kong. This festival marks the end of the winter and the beginning of spring on a pleasant welcome note. A major highlight is the International Chinese New Year Parade, an extravaganza of multicultural performances and floats. In 2025, India’s very own dance troupe V Unbeatable will be a part of the parade that winds down iconic streets in Tsim Sha Tsui!
The city fills up with red lanterns, red envelopes are exchanged between family and friends alike to bring good luck and prosperity, and the lion and dragon dances happen across street corners to ward off evil spirits. The festival reaches its peak glory with magnificent fireworks at the Victoria Harbour.
Cheung Chau Bun Festival
📍 When: May (8th day of the 4th lunar month)
📍 Where: Cheung Chau Island
This unique festival in Hong Kong started almost 100 years back when the Cheung Chau island of Hong Kong was believed to be cursed with diseases and pirate attacks. Buns play a very important role in the Cheung Chau Bun Festival of Hong Kong. In ancient times, the villagers believed that the large towers covered in steamed buns would protect them from evils. Be a part of the festival and enjoy the bun scrambling competition, where the one with the highest number of collected buns at the bun tower is considered the luckiest.
It was during that time that the villagers prayed to the Taoist god Pak Tai to arrive to their rescue. Even now when you visit Hong Kong during this festival you can see locals parading the streets with idols of Pak Tai, aiming to wash off the evils with his blessings. Parade with the locals at the Piu Silk Parade, experience Taoist rituals and understand the cultural traditions of Hong Kong.
Dragon Boat Festival
📍 When: June (5th day of the 5th lunar month)
📍 Where: Victoria Harbour, Stanley, Aberdeen, and other districts
Have you ever been to a festival as adventurous as this one? The Dragon Boat Festival is an annual celebration honoring the fishermen of Tai O in Hong Kong. While numerous legends surround the festival’s origins, the most popular one is when Qu Yuan, the patriotic poet of the Zhou Dynasty drowned himself in the Miluo River due to political mayhem in the state of Chu. In an attempt to save him, locals raced with boats, beating drums, and threw rice dumplings in the water to keep the fish away from his body.
This tradition continues as the Dragon Boat Festival, where teams with paddlers, drummers, and steer persons compete with each other in different kinds of boats. The celebration is incomplete without savoring tasty zongzi or sticky rice dumplings of various kinds. This event kicks off at Victoria Harbour, showcasing over 100 elaborately decorated boats adorned with dragon heads and tails. Hong Kong takes pride in this festival which is now recognized as a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage.
Mid-Autumn Festival
📍 When: September or October (15th day of the 8th lunar month)
📍 Where: Celebrated across Hong Kong, with major lantern displays in Victoria Park and the Tai Hang Fire dragon dance.
As the name suggests, this festival in Hong Kong takes place on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, usually during September or October. Hong Kong locals celebrate the blessing of Chang’e, the moon goddess, and express gratitude for a bountiful harvest under a full moon, which is believed to shine its brightest during this time.
The city gets all lit up with colorful lanterns with Victoria Park organizing the largest lantern displays. Families share special mooncakes and get dressed up in new clothes, followed by heartfelt thanksgiving and prayers during the Mid-Autumn Festival. In the neighborhood of Tai Hang, the fire dragon dance takes place, and a dragon made out of incense sticks parades through the streets.
Hong Kong Cyclothon
📍 When: October
Every year Hong Kong organizes one of Asia's premier cycling events, the Hong Kong Cyclothon. This year the Sun Hung Kai Properties Hong Kong Cyclothon 2024 concluded on October 13, with energetic riders participating from all around the world. With innumerable scenic cyclic routes scattered along the city’s landscape, the key highlight of 2024 was the exceptional enthusiasm of non-cyclists with their first-ever Cyclothon Carnival at Wonderland in the West Kowloon Cultural District.
This 6-day event was all about exploring 6 major scenic routes and energizing the inner self.
The 50 km ride included four tunnels and three bridges along with the Sha Tin Heights Tunnel. The surreal view of the harbor from Ting Kau Bridge on a 32km Ride is a treat to the eyes. For all the go-getters, there was also the City Cycling Challenge around the Greater Bay Area. Once the cycling exhaustion kicks in, the Cyclonthon Carnival makes its entry. Enter the carnival and expose yourself to the wonders of seven thematic zones: a sports experience zone, a sports-themed market, family-friendly art activities, a gourmet corner, active recovery and performances, and impressive large-scale photo spots.
Hong Kong welcomes every soul with the warmest welcome to celebrate with them the joy of festivity. From traditional celebrations like Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival to contemporary events like the Hong Kong Cyclothon and Art Basel, these 10 celebrations weave together the diverse threads of the city’s soul.
Do you know more about Hong Kong through its multifaceted festivals? Now is the time to explore this incredible country. Book your ticket to Hong Kong and be a part of it!
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