Your ultimate guide to Chung Yeung Festival

Chung Yeung Festival is celebrated on the ninth day of the ninth month in the lunar calendar – which is why it is sometimes also referred to as the Double Ninth Festival. It is one of China’s most traditional festivals, having been referenced in writing since before the Eastern Han period (AD 25), dating back to as early as the Warring States era.

According to the ancient divination text the I Ching (also known as the Book of Changes), odd numbers have yang (masculine) energy, and nine, being the largest single odd number, is considered the most positive. The repeated nines in Chung Yeung mean this is an auspicious date. In Chinese, this festival is, therefore, called 重陽節 (cung4 joeng4 zit3), meaning the ‘Double Yang Festival’.

As the story goes, the tradition of Chung Yeung began when a Han dynasty man was advised by a prophet or master to bring chrysanthemum wine and food, and climb a mountain with his family on the ninth day of the ninth month. After spending the day as instructed, the man returned home to find all the villagers and his livestock dead. If he had not climbed the mountain, his entire family would have perished too. Since then, Chinese people have followed the custom of climbing up the mountains, or being on higher ground during Chung Yeung to avoid ill fortune.

Keeping with the origins legend, it has become customary to go hiking or climb a mountain during this festival. The autumn weather will make for a nice outdoor trip, and the physical act of ascending to new heights carries an auspicious meaning. 

Particularly for Hong Kong and Macau, Chung Yeung is also associated with visiting ancestral graves. Families will often make an outing of it, going to their ancestor’s graves to tidy up and lay out food offerings. Since a lot of burial sites and cemeteries in Hong Kong are located on hills, Hongkongers tend to take this activity as having climbed a mountain as well.

Sometimes, people will also fly kites on Chung Yeung as it is believed to take bad fortune and carry them far away from the kite holder. However, it is important not to pick up pretty kites from the ground, as fallen kites have an ominous meaning instead.

Since the Chung Yeung legend mentions chrysanthemum wine, this flower has become very much associated with the festival. Do try it if you have the chance; chrysanthemum wine is said to have anti-aging properties and is supposedly also beneficial for eyesight.

Aside from wine, you may also see a lot more chrysanthemum desserts and Chung Yeung cakes during this time – the latter is a steamed rice flour confection usually decorated with jujube, chestnuts, and almonds. Jury’s still out on whether chrysanthemum tea can also make a good wine substitute, but since it’s really the flower that has the lucky connotation of longevity, we say, why not?!

Both these festivals involve grave sweeping and paying respects to deceased family, so it’s understandable how Ching Ming might be confused with Chung Yeung – but no, they are two separate festivals. 

Ching Ming takes place in the spring, where families traditionally pray for prosperity and a blessed farming season ahead. In contrast, Chung Yeung occurs in autumn, at the end of the growing season, and people would traditionally give thanks for the good harvest and blessings received over the past year.

Yes, it is indeed! As a general day off, schools and most businesses will be closed for Chung Yeung. As the festival this year falls on a Monday, we’ll all be enjoying a long weekend.