Goddess of Mercy’s Festival

Huadu people enshrine and warship the Goddess of Mercy. Goddess of mercy’s festivals are held four times in one year. According to lunar calendar, February 19 is the birthday of Goddess of Mercy, June 19 is her ordaining day, September 19 is her immortality day, November 19 is the day when she enter the sea and appointed as the goddess of water, Goddess of Mercy is also known as mother Buddha.

Huadu Pangu King Festival

August 12 in lunar calendar has been deemed as the date of birth of Pangu King since the renovation of Pangu King Temple of Shiling Town in the 24th year of Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty and a celebration will be held from August 12 to 15 for four days. The summer harvest and seeding have been accomplished and a huge number of idle people will come to celebrate the festival during which time incenses will be burned and firecrackers will be let off. In 4 successive days, full-scale dramas and “mirror grabbing” ceremonies will be performed, festive lantern will be shown and lion dancing will be played. Vendors may sell candles, food, drinks, mascots, lucky windmill and the site is bustled with noises and excitement. The Pangu King Festival was stopped during the Cultural Revolution and was gradually recovered thereafter. Pangu King Temple and other monuments, and roads were rebuilt by non-governmental organizations in 1985. The Pangu King Council officially motivated the masses to restore the celebration, the number of audience was more than 60,000 on August 12 in 1986, and more than 30,000 people will gather together to celebrate every year afterwards. Lion dancing teams in some villages of the district also participate celebrate the festival. At dawn, the beating gongs and drums will resound to the skies, when the dancing lion enters stage, the lion dancing teams will line up before the Pangu King temple and dance together. In recent years, the four-day full-stage drama performance reopens and dramas (Cantonese Opera) or dancing & sing performances will be available in the afternoon and evening.