Cheung Chau island is known for its festival of buns. Said to give thanks for deliverance from the plague and placate the ghosts of pirates, the festival involves a parade and building towers of buns and temporary temples with paper gods.
A Chinese friend took us to a branch of the river just outside Zhangzhou where we found the locals energetically participating in and watching dragon boat races.
The courtyard outside the local temple was packed with people and their parked bikes and scooters. People were selling snacks and trinkets, and a stage was set up for opera performances. Further down the river we saw a performance of the famous Zhangzhou hand puppets.