The famous 60-foot bamboo towers covered with buns, a symbol of the Cheung Chau Bun Festival, might not return in the future due to a shortage of staff and material issues, Dimsum Daily reports. The complex structure, traditionally made from bamboo and buns, was already cancelled last year. Even after raising the budget from HK$90,000 to HK$130,000, no contractor accepted the job, according to The Standard.
While the iconic giant towers might be gone for now, organisers are keeping the medium-sized version introduced last year, which received good feedback from both locals and tourists.
The Cheung Chau Bun Festival is a traditional Taoist celebration held annually in May on Cheung Chau island, Hong Kong. It honours Pak Tai, the Taoist sea god, and includes parades, lion dances, and vegetarian rituals.
The highlight? The legendary Bun Scrambling Competition, where climbers race up a tower to grab buns in just three minutes. The higher the bun, the higher the score. This year’s final will take place from 11:30pm on May 5 to 12:45am on May 6, at the Pak Tai Temple Playground.
On the other hand, over the past 10 years, many of the city’s famous neon signs have been taken down after government orders. More recently, there was news that traditional bamboo scaffolding might be replaced with metal on public construction sites. The government says at least half of all scaffolding must soon be made of metal.
Header Image Credit: 怪貓 via Wikimedia Commons & Hong Kong Tourism Board
