The Cheung Chau Bun Festival is one of Hong Kong's wackiest and best. Set on the small island of Cheung Chau, each year thousands of tourists descend on the island's lone village to watch hundreds of men scramble up the side of a 60ft 'bun tower' and pluck off plastic buns. The basic idea of the Cheung Chau bun climb is to pull off more buns than your competitors, until all of the buns have been pulled off. Although toned down somewhat in recent years, the competition is still frenetic and at times violent.
The Cheung Chau Bun festival is said to have its origins in scaring away evil spirits, how or why nobody seems to remember, but the event continues.
The traditional bun climb came to a tragic end in 1978, when a tower collapsed, injuring thirty climbers in the process. The event was then banned for the following 26 years. Reintroduced in 2005, the new event is somewhat tamer than the original. Previously, any number of aggressive, barehanded climbers would be involved on a tower cobbled together by local villagers. A recipe for disaster. Nowadays the final climb is restricted to twelve people, all of whom are safely secured in harnesses, and the tower is also reinforced with steel. Somewhat bizarrely, the original Chinese buns have been replaced with plastic replicas, apparently it's safer.
The Bun Climb is the finale of a larger festival and will be held at midnight of May 2nd, although preliminary rounds will be held thought the week before. You can even try out your own climbing skills, with a number of practise bun towers set up and instructors provided.
Another major part of the festival is the Cheung Chau Festival parade, when floats and dragon dances fill the street. The highlight of the parade is groups of children who are dressed up as gods, hoisted up on a 5ft pole and made to look like they're floating down the streets.
Essential Information for the Cheung Chau Bun Festival
Where: Cheung Chau Island
When: May 2nd
Price: Free
How: How to Get to Cheung Chau
