This is the first in a series of articles in which we explore the cryptozoology of Hong Kong. Each month we’ll be taking a close look at one of the city’s many imaginary creatures. Naturally, the first addition to our mythical menagerie will be dragons.

The clangour of cymbals and drums splits the air as lions prowl, pounce and tower vertiginously above the gathered crowd. An azure sky frames their acrobatics on this Holy Saturday as Bendigo’s dragons lie dormant, waiting to rise. Lion teams, from across Australia, have converged to grace these Easter celebrations in Bendigo, a city of 95,000 people about 150 kilometres northwest of Melbourne – a city with a surprising Chinese heritage.

Under a busy flyover, where the Island Eastern Corridor becomes Chai Wan Road, sits an unassuming shopping arcade. A mezzanine corridor strewn with paper lanterns, plastic flowers and a wild array of funereal offerings leads to the venerable paper crafts workshop, Hung C Lau (雄獅樓). A large paper car leans haphazardly against a wall while paper servants stand guard at the door. Amidst this melange we find Anita Jack and Dan Beck of the Golden Dragon Museum.

For 126 years, the small Australian city of Bendigo has embraced Chinese dragons. This year their dragon, Sun Loong, is retiring and the city is hunting for a new craftsman who can build their third dragon, Dai Gum Loong. A long search has brought Anita Jack, general manager of the Golden Dragon Museum and Dan Beck, vice president of the museum, to Hong Kong. Their quest has finally yielded a suitable candidate: Master Hui Ka-hung of the Hung C Lau (雄獅摟) workshop.

It’s a cool January afternoon and I’m waiting in a bus terminal at Yuen Long station. A blue minivan pulls up and I’m beckoned to jump in. Crammed in the back are Anita Jack, Managing Director of the Golden Dragon Museum, Daniel Beck, Vice President of the museum, and Ben Devanny, from the Bendigo City Council, along with their translator, Heidi Yeung. They have travelled from their homes in Australia and Taipei to the hamlet of Pak Sha Tsuen in search of a dragon maker.