The Hong Kong family preserving the dying art of handmade paper lanterns

Hui Ka-hung is one of Hong Kong’s last experts making festive paper crafts. Ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Hui has been busy creating colourful paper lanterns as well as some huge decorations to be displayed in the city’s Victoria Park. Handmade traditional lanterns were once plentiful during festive celebrations, but in recent years, many revellers have turned to plastic lanterns. Festive paper craftsmanship, meanwhile, has become a dying art. Hui is one of the few who continues to practise the craft, running a family business where he works alongside his father. Such skills are often handed down from older to younger generations, but in Hui’s case, it was the other way around.