Festival of Hungry Ghosts. This is the 7th month of the Chinese calendar, when the gates of Hell open and all of the ghosts therein are able to walk the earth for a month. There are impromptu alters all over the city, where joss sticks (incense) and rice paper prayers are burned. There are also mobile operas nightly, and the first few rows of chairs are empty and reserved for the ghosts' attendance. Historically Chinese operas were for the working class and were mobile affairs that were performed in food markets and coffee houses. This photo is of the celebrations at Keppel Shipyard, replete with a full buffet lunch for both the living and the dead. Those large multicolored poles are massive incense sticks.