Macao celebrates traditional Drunken Dragon Festival

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The traditional Drunken Dragon Festival kicked off in China's Macao Special Administrative Region on Tuesday, featuring Chinese drunken dragon performances and free dragon boat rice for visitors.

People perform drunken dragon dance during the Drunken Dragon Festival to celebrate the Buddha's birthday in south China's Macao, May 22, 2018./Xinhua

Recognized as one of China's national intangible cultural heritage, the Drunken Dragon Festival originates from a Macao legend of a Buddhist monk and a divine dragon who saved people from the plague during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The unique traditional folk festival celebrated by many fishmongers in Macao was developed from the drunken dragon dance.

A man performs drunk dragon dance during the Drunken Dragon Festival to celebrate the Buddha's birthday in south China's Macao, May 22, 2018. /Xinhua

Laid out on an incense burner table is a wooden dragon made to dance for blessings. Two drunken dragon players hold the head and the tail of the wooden dragon respectively. With a liquor jar in their hands, the players perform after taking a sip of liquor and spray it onto the wooden dragon.

The festival falls on April 8 in the Chinese lunar calendar and is a traditional cultural event. During the festival people pray for the safety and prosperity of Macao's fishing industry.

People perform drunken dragon dance during the Drunken Dragon Festival to celebrate the Buddha's birthday in south China's Macao, May 22, 2018./Xinhua

Local residents can be seen gathering at the Red Market, a building which was built over 80 years ago, queuing for some dragon boat longevity rice. The players also perform at the Largo do Senado square, which attracts thousands of tourists.

(With inputs from Xinhua)

(Cover photo: People perform drunken dragon dance during the Drunken Dragon Festival to celebrate the Buddha's birthday in south China's Macao, May 22, 2018. Photo credit to Cheong Kam Ka/Xinhua)