The Cheung Chau Bun Festival, which has not taken place since 2020 because of Covid-19, will be held this year from April 16-May 27. The festival is best known for its iconic bun-tower climbing competition, parades, and displays of buns stamped with a red Chinese character that means ‘peace’.
The highlight of the festival is the Bun Scrambling Competition, or the bun-tower climbing competition, which will be held at the football pitch of Pak Tai Temple Playground on Cheung Chau. Anyone over the age of 18 can take part as long as they are physically fit and apply between February 27-March 20.
A maximum of 200 people can sign up for the event, and if the number of applicants exceeds the quota, participants will be selected using a ballot system. Twelve contestants will be chosen to take part in the final, which will begin at 11.30pm on May 26.
All the finalists will have to climb up a tower to collect buns, which carry different scores at different points, within a time limit. The contestant with the highest total score will be the winner, while whoever bags the most buns will be declared the recipient of the “Full Pockets of Lucky Buns” prize.
Some of the other events in the festival include the display of the winning entries of the Student Colouring and Drawing Competitions and the Climbing Carnival on May 14, which visitors can join on the spot.
Header image credits: Tat Lau via Flickr