So I was watching the progress of scaffolding being erected on the local outdoor basketball court in Peng Chau, wondering what kind of court construction requires scaffolding. Then they built a roof so I suspected maybe a festival was coming up. Then last night, and also tonight, as I came off the ferry, I heard what I thought was a funeral (lots of traditional Chinese music). But, to my surprise, an entire theater had been built, including a sloped floor leading to the stage, and a Chinese opera was in progress. So I went and had a look, was kind of random with tons of people walking around, talking, not paying much attention, a small altar in the back with incense, tons of food being sold. We have a municipal services building with an indoor gym and a school with I am guessing also a gym so not sure why the very popular basketball court was selected.
But...this is Peng Chau where at least once every two weeks you exit the ferry directly into a large funeral complete with every kind of paper need for the afterlife (one guy even had a paper life-sized massage chair, how great is that!).
So is this some kind of cultural program bringing opera to the outlying islands/villages etc.? I didn't notice any signs advertising ticket sales and such. I watched each night for about a half hour but standing near the back, the incense was rather overpowering.
There are a lot of local celebrations that I don't always understand (and neither do my local Chinese coworkers, they are THAT local). But this is the great thing about Peng Chau, an insight into local culture that you don't always see elsewhere...