Jade Emperor's Birthday (Pai Ti Kong)

Pai Ti Kong is the Hokkien community's biggest night of Chinese New Year. Families set up an open-air altar with sugarcane, roast pig, fruit and kuih, and pray from about 11pm on the 8th night into the early hours of the 9th. In the Hokkien reckoning the new day starts at 11pm.

At Chew Jetty the altar runs along the jetty (about 20 m in the 2025 report). Past years had stage songs and dance in the evening, speeches, a high-pole lion dance and, in 2026, a yee sang toss with guests, then a countdown at midnight. Joss paper is burned after the prayers and the food is shared.

There are no official fireworks. The organisers have not set them off for several years, for crowd safety, though people nearby often light their own.

The story Penang Hokkiens tell is that their ancestors, fleeing attackers in China, hid in a sugarcane field, in one version for eight days and nights. On the ninth day the attackers were gone and the villagers gave thanks to the Jade Emperor. That is why sugarcane stands at the sides of the altar. Versions differ on who the attackers were, and it is a community tradition, not a documented event.

The 2025 celebration at Chew Jetty was its 118th, according to the jetty's organisers. Thean Kong Thnuah in Air Itam is said to have had a Taoist shrine from 1869, and the present temple dates from 1905.

The night is Saturday 13 February 2027 and the 9th day is Sunday 14 February, from the Hong Kong Observatory lunar calendar. No 2027 programme or times had been announced when this page was written.

Chew Jetty is on Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay), George Town. Thean Kong Thnuah is beside the lower station of the Penang Hill railway in Air Itam: take the lane under the arch marked Jalan Pokok Ceri. Tow Boo Kong Temple is on Jalan Raja Uda in Butterworth, and the state named it as the Seberang Perai site for a Pai Ti Kong ceremony in 2026.

Entry is free.

Arrive early and expect to stand. One guide describes roads near the jetties on Weld Quay being closed to traffic on the night.

Look, do not touch, at the altar. Ask before photographing people at prayer.

Keep to the walkway on Chew Jetty. About 70 families live there.

Chew Jetty is a narrow wooden walkway over the water and is very crowded on the night. The organisers had not published accessibility details for 2027.