You must already know that Indonesia has many local festivals held every year. One of them is the Bakar Tongkang festival held in Bagansiapiapi City, Rokan Hilir Regency, Riau Province.

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Bakar Tongkang is a form of respect shown by the Chinese ethnic groups to their ancestors by burning a tongkang or ship. This unique and lively festival is one of Riau's main attractions that has been going on since ancient times and is still preserved to this day.

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You will be invited to see the series of events in the Bakar Tongkang festival, starting from prayers and local rituals. Then, there are cultural attractions typical of China such as lion dance, entertainment stages along with Hokkian songs sung by local and international participants. Until the climax of the festival, which is the burning of the replica ship or tongkang.

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Before being paraded to the burning site, the tongkang will first be blessed and prayed for at the Hok Hok Eng Temple. You will see thousands of papers containing prayers for ancestors, which are pinned to the ship. The Bakar Tongkang festival is also known as a thanksgiving to the god Kie Ong Ya, for bringing their ancestors safely and granting them a better life.