A highlight of the Phuket events, the Phuket Vegetarian Festival takes place annually during the ninth lunar month on the calendar of Chinese. Held over a nine day period, the event celebrates the beliefs of Chinese community that abstinence from meat as well as various stimulants during the period of the festival will help them attain peace of mind and good health. It is thoroughly believed that those who religiously observe the vegetarian festival and the sacred rituals that accompany it obtain good fortune.

During the period of the festival a full vegan diet is strictly observed by the local residents of Chinese origin for the purposes of merit-making as well as spiritual cleansing. The most fascinating aspect of the festival for the majority of people are a set of gruesome yet exciting performances that include body piercing and cutting, walking barefoot on burning charcoal and more. The aesthetic performances are conducted by priests at various Chinese temples and shrines to rid their followers of any bad luck and strengthen their faith. This dangerous activities undertaken by participants acting as gods’ mediums are becoming more and more daring and spectacular each year.

The ceremonies of the festival take place in six Chinese temples scattered throughout Phuket to which many people of the Thai and Chinese community bring their household gods and offerings of food and drink. They believe that an annual injection of spiritual energy that is assumed to be generating in the temples will be a benefit to the household gods. The visitors also can participate in the lighting of candles and joss sticks that are placed around various gods.