THE LEGEND OF THE FIRE DRAGON
The origin of Fire Dragon Dance can be traced to over hundred years ago in Tai Hang, Hong Kong. After suffering from a storm, the people of Pok Fu Lam Village were attacked by a snake that destroyed the village's peace. The villagers caught and killed the snake but in the days following the snake's death, plague broke out in Tai Hang.
A village elder proclaimed Buddha came to him in a dream, advising that to stop the misfortune, they must perform a fire dragon dance around the village for three days and three nights. The villagers obliged and miraculously, the plague went away. Thus began the tradition of the Fire Dragon.
To this day, the Fire Dragon Dance is the main activity of the Mid-Autumn celebration in Pok Fu Lam, and is a traditional custom of the Hakka ethnic group from China.
CHINATOWN LEGACY STEWARDSHIP GROUP
The Culture and Heritage working group is part of the Chinatown Legacy Stewardship Group, a civic advisory group appointed by the City of Vancouver. The group works with the City of Vancouver’s Chinatown Transformation Team on Chinatown’s culture and heritage development, a key component in the work towards the City of Vancouver’s commitment to nominating Chinatown for UNESCO world heritage site designation (commitment made by City Council on April 22, 2018.)
The working group’s focus is to promote, conserve and activate Chinatown’s cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, and to work with the City of Vancouver on a management plan for the cultural heritage assets in Vancouver Chinatown.