Come and join the party

Hong Kong is famous as a place that thrives on hard work, but nobody has ever suggested that people don't know how to enjoy a party. 

A bonus for visitors is that no matter when you choose to come, there is a good chance that your stay here will coincide with one of the many colourful Chinese festivals Hong Kong celebrates with such gusto, or with another special event of some kind. 

The biggest celebration by some distance is also the first of the year, the Lunar New Year Spring Festival (Chinese New Year), which falls between late January and mid-February. In 2007 New Year's Day in the Chinese calendar will be February 18. 

Chinese New Year in Hong Kong is a much more important festivity than its Western counterpart. Official celebrations last for 15 days, the first three of which are public holidays.

Getting into the spirit of the season is easy. Take a stroll through the flower markets, join the crowds in the streets of Tsim Sha Tsui for the colourful Night Parade, and see the annual fireworks display. With Hong Kong's harbour view as its backdrop, this is probably the most exciting pyrotechnic show in the world. 

Probably the best vantage point from which to view the fireworks is the InterContinental Hotel, according to its spokeperson Carole Klein. 

"It's spectacular from here because you're so close to the harbour and you have the fireworks going off with the backdrop of the island. Our roof is where the television crew shoots from you can't get any closer. We're built over the water." 

Chinese New Year is the only festival that seriously disrupts business in Hong Kong for more than a day, and some restaurants and shops actually do briefly put up the shutters - usually so staff can visit family on the Chinese mainland over the holiday - but it isn't by any means the only important festival in the calendar. 

The Dragon Boat Festival, which takes place on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, is one of the highlights of Hong Kong's long, hot summer. Young Chinese men and a fair number of expatriates compete in fiercely contested races in long, fast boats with ornate dragon's head prows. Each is rowed by 20 oarsmen - or women - to the beat of a drum. Most towns and villages with their own stretches of coastline stage races, but the best place for visitors to get close to the action is Stanley on the south coast of Hong Kong island. 

Another picturesque festival is the Mid Autumn festival which is notable for displays of colourful lanterns, and is regarded as a time for children, who are allowed to stay up late to carry their own lanterns through the streets and parks. Sweet mooncakes are baked for the festival, celebrated this year from October 1 to 12. 

Victoria Park is a popular gathering place on the evening of the full moon, which this year falls on October 6. On the evenings of October 5, 6, and 7 there will also be opportunities to see the traditional Fire Dragon Procession in Tai Hang, near the park, featuring a 66m dragon wreathed in incense. It's a uniquely Hong Kong spectacle. 

Although most Hong Kong festivals are deeply rooted in Chinese tradition, this most international of Asian cities celebrates Western festivals as well. At Christmas time the harbour features even more bright lights than usual in honour of the season, and Statue Square in Central becomes a Winter Wonderland for children, complete with a giant Christmas tree. 

Not all festivals in Hong Kong revolve around public holidays however - although the city has 17 a year, an average of two a month. The Hong Kong Arts Festival in February and March is one of the finest of its kind anywhere, and features leading international performers from the world of classical, jazz and world music, theatre and dance. The Hong Kong Film Festival in April is also a festival of international stature, attended by stars and directors from all over the world. The town is at least as keen on sport as on the arts, and although its principal preoccupations are horse racing and football, every March the Hong Kong Stadium plays host to one of the world's most exciting rugby tournaments, The Hong Kong Sevens - a festive mood, and the consumption by the crowd of phenomenal quantities of beer. 

The Rugby Sevens is special partly because the make up of the crowd is so eclectic - it's a mix of Hong Kong's own cosmopolitan   community and   visitors who come from around the globe. It makes for a unique atmosphere, says Robbie MacRobbie, community manager of the Hong Kong Rugby Football Union, who points out that some of the greatest names in rugby have appeared at the Sevens. 

Whatever the season, Hong Kong is generally celebrating something.