Revelers pack a Hong Kong island for a bun festival, a century-old tradition
Yahoo • • world
Key Points:
- Hong Kong's Cheung Chau island hosted its traditional Bun Festival, attracting large crowds to celebrate a century-old event focused on prayers for peace and blessings.
- The festival features a "Piu Sik" parade where children dressed as deities, historic figures, and local politicians are carried through the island's narrow streets.
- The main event is the midnight "bun-scrambling" competition, where participants climb a tower covered with plastic buns to collect the highest-scoring buns within a time limit.
- The bun-scrambling race was halted for decades after a tower collapse in 1978 injured many but resumed in 2005, continuing the festival's legacy.
- The festival originates from a legend where prayers and rituals performed to end a plague on Cheung Chau led to the ongoing tradition aimed at dispelling disaster and ensuring community safety.