The Longtan Economic Association of Huazhou Street and the Guangzhou Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection Center jointly held a parade to celebrate the Tin Hau Festival on May 12.

Longtan village holds a parade to celebrate the Tin Hau Festival on May 12. [Photo/WeChat account: gzhzfb]

Longtan village is located near Xinjiao Middle Road and Jianghai Avenue. It is an ancient Lingnan (Guangdong and the nearby provinces in southeastern China) water town with a long history filled with legends, and a rich culture. The birthday of the goddess Tin Hau is one of the biggest celebrations for the village.

It was said that in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), a piece of wood resembling a woman was floating on a river in Longtan village, which was considered holy at the time. So they brought in a skilled craftsman to carve the goddess Tin Hau out of the wood. In the past, the Tin Hau statue was placed in the villagers' homes in turn. Now it is permanently located in the Donghu Huanggong Temple.

There were more than 30 performances in the parade, including the dance of heavenly maids, the scatter blossoms dance performance, as well as dragon and lion dances.

A dragon dance is performed to celebrate the Tin Hau Festival. [Photo/WeChat account: gzhzfb]

The parade consisted of more than 280 people. They passed Mashi Street and the Gushi Bridge. They stopped at each ancestral hall, where representatives offered gifts and received blessings from Tin Hau.

Haizhu also planed to hold webcasts and interactive experience activities to promote Tin Hau culture in Longtan village.