Feast of the Drunken Dragon (May / 8th day of the Fourth Moon)

This is a very strange festival if compared with the other major Chinese festivals. It dates from the misty past from the Kangxi Kingdom of the Qing Dynasty. Praying to the Buddha for help against a disastrous plague, villagers were carrying his statue when suddenly a giant python leaped out of the river on to the bank, blocking the way. A Buddhist monk slashed at the monster, cutting it into three pieces which were tossed into the river.

The pieces writhed about and then, amid a great wind and thunder, they flew up into the sky.Miraculously, the people recovered from the plague and the turf which has been stained with the creature's blood proved to be unusually fertile. Believing that they had been saved by a divine dragon, the people carved its image and at the annual festival when the Buddha is bathed they drank wildly and danced with the dragon.

The fishermen associations organize this festival, which start in the morning in the Kuan Tai Temple near S. Domingos Market (near Senado Square), where men perform a drunken dance with wooden heads and tails of a dragon. Then, they go on the direction of the Inner Harbour and pay a visit some shops and piers on the waterfront. At each stop they drink wine until they are not able to go on. All the participants and observers end the day with a great dinner.