The three 40-feet-high bamboo towers that form the centrepiece of the annual Cheung Chau Bun Festival celebrations will not be on display this year. In a Facebook post on Sunday, the Hong Kong Cheung Chau Bun Festival Committee revealed that the towers could not be constructed because of labour shortages, and shared a picture of the life-sized paintings of the towers that will be on view instead.
The post provides details about how, in March this year, the contractor in charge of constructing the tower said that the frames would have to be remade as they had not been used for many years. However, by the end of March, the contractor said that the tower could not be completed due to labour issues, and that the committee would have to handle building the towers themselves.
However, this will not affect the tower that will be used for the final of the Bun Scrambling Contest, which will begin on May 26. During the contest – which marks the end of the festival – 12 participants will climb up a tower to collect buns, which are given different scores at different points, within a time limit. The contestant who scores the most points will be declared the winner, and whoever collects the most buns will get the Full Pockets of Lucky Buns prize.
Free tickets for around 1,400 spectators who wish to watch the final of the Bun Scrambling Contest will be available shortly before the event begins at 11.30pm on May 26. Entry to the contest venue at Pak Tai Temple Playground will open at 10.30pm, and the event will begin at 12am on May 27, after the conclusion of the opening ceremony.
Header image credits: chopsticks7 via Flickr
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