Hong Kong Events - September 2027
September 2027 belongs to Mid-Autumn. The festival falls on Wednesday 15 September and the public holiday follows on Thursday 16 September, so the lanterns go up in the days either side. Expect the government's lantern carnivals and, in Tai Hang on Hong Kong Island, the fire-dragon dance, where a dragon of burning incense sticks is carried through the streets. The 2027 programme is not published yet, so treat the dates as the usual window. Nearer the market, this is also the month the city's museum season restarts. The weather starts to break at last: still warm, still in the typhoon window, but the evenings begin to be pleasant again.
🌕 Mid-Autumn Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival
📅 Wednesday, 15 September 2027
The 15th day of the eighth lunar month: moon-viewing, mooncakes and lanterns, and the night the city stays out late.
Why go: the market's own Mid-Autumn evenings are some of the best of the year — lantern-carrying families, late trading, and the square at its liveliest. Buy mooncakes in the weeks before, not on the night.
📍 Location: Hong Kong-wide; the Tin Hau Temple area and the Yau Ma Tei streets
🎟️ Cost: Free
🏷️ Categories: TRADITIONAL, FESTIVAL
🗓️ Status: Date confirmed for Wednesday 15 September 2027
Day after Mid-Autumn - public holiday
📅 Thursday, 16 September 2027
The day after the festival is the public holiday.
Why go: with the holiday on the Thursday, the whole week around Mid-Autumn is a busy one in Kowloon — good crowds at the market, harder taxis.
📍 Location: Hong Kong-wide; the market is open as usual
🎟️ Cost: Free
🏷️ Categories: HOLIDAY
🗓️ Status: Confirmed public holiday for Thursday 16 September 2027
Lantern carnivals and the Tai Hang fire dragon
📅 Around Mid-Autumn, mid-September 2027 - dates to be confirmed
The LCSD mounts lantern carnivals in the days around the festival, and Tai Hang stages its own fire-dragon dance around the same time.
Why go: the fire dragon is the most spectacular free event of the autumn — if you are staying in Kowloon it is a cross-harbour trip, but worth it once.
📍 Location: Victoria Park and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza in Tsim Sha Tsui; Tai Hang, Hong Kong Island
🎟️ Cost: Free
🏷️ Categories: FESTIVAL, TRADITIONAL
🗓️ Status: Annual events; the 2027 programmes and dates are not yet published — check Discover Hong Kong nearer the festival
🖼️ Exhibitions and the new museum season
- M+, West Kowloon: Do Ho Suh: Belonging opens in the Main Hall Gallery in September 2027; Landmarks: Architecture in Asia for the 21st Century and Geoffrey Bawa: Architecture for the Senses continue. mplus.org.hk
- Hong Kong Palace Museum, West Kowloon: Brilliance: Ming Dynasty Ceramic Treasures to 2 January 2028; The Forbidden City and the World in Gallery 1 to 6 March 2028. hkpm.org.hk
- Hong Kong Museum of Art, TST (free): the permanent galleries are free; the autumn exhibition programme is announced late in the summer.
- Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Sha Tin (free): check the museum's autumn programme. heritagemuseum.gov.hk
- Tai Kwun, Central: the free outdoor Chilled Steps programme runs to 30 June 2027; the next contemporary exhibition after that is announced in due course. taikwun.hk
🧑🍳 Courses and workshops to book this month
- Dim sum cooking class — Maxim's Dim Sum Academy runs a rolling Cantonese dim sum class from around HK$450 per person, bookable through Klook. Why September: the weather has broken, so a day that mixes a class with an evening at the market works again.
- Temple Street Night Market Foodie Experience — Walk in Hong Kong's 2-3 hour evening walk, with three street snacks, a claypot-rice dinner and a nostalgic singing parlour, meeting at Jordan MTR. walkin.hk
- Cantonese dim sum class with a wet-market tour — HK New Oriental Culinary Art, HK$1,080 per head (minimum two), Monday to Friday. hknoc.com.hk
- Brush calligraphy and Chinese ink painting — Art Connect and Communication in Kwun Tong, 1.5-hour sessions for up to eight people, around US$65 with materials and tea.
- Private Kowloon food and market walks — Big Foot Tour's private walks avoid commission stops entirely (bigfoottour.com); Walk Hong Kong covers heritage routes. walkhongkong.com
- Tai chi in Yau Tsim Mong — LCSD classes all year, many free. lcsd.gov.hk
🧭 Practical notes for September
- Typhoon season: September is one of the peak months for tropical storms. The Hong Kong Observatory gives days of warning, but if a signal 8 goes up, the market can close and transport stops — build slack into any trip.
- Mooncakes: the good bakeries sell out in the fortnight before the festival. Buy early, and note that the boxes are heavy.
- Mid-Autumn crowds: 15 and 16 September are the busiest nights of the month in Kowloon. Come to the market before 7pm if you want space.
- Getting there: Jordan MTR is the closest station. See how to get here.
- Timing: check the opening hours and closing time pages.
- Entry and prices: free to walk; food and readings are paid and any quoted price is indicative. See the 2027 food guide and fortune-telling.
- Free alternatives: the lantern displays are free, as are the Tin Hau Temple and the Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market.
- Before you travel: lantern and fire-dragon dates are published in the weeks before the festival — check Discover Hong Kong and the best time to visit.
