Louise Delmotte & Alice Fung
HONG KONG (AP) – Hong Kong’s colourful Bun Festival is back after three years of COVID-19 restrictions.
Visitors packed the tiny island of Cheung Chau to watch children parade in costumes and to eat buns stamped with the Chinese characters for “peace” and “safety”.
The festival’s highlight is a midnight ‘bun-scrambling’ competition in which climbers race up a tower covered with plastic buns, trying to grab as many as possible. It was suspended for decades after an accident in 1978 when a collapse injured many, and only restarted in 2005.
After COVID-19, the bun scramble has returned, but for this year, it’s limited to one smaller tower.
The festival’s return is a sign that normal life is returning to Hong Kong after its pandemic restrictions.
During the parade, children dressed as legendary or historic characters are carried on stands above the heads of the crowd through the island’s narrow lanes.
This year, some wore firefighter costumes to pay tribute to the Hong Kong rescue crews that helped search for earthquake survivors in Turkiye in February.
Cantonese opera artists also staged performances in a bamboo theatre.
“Everyone is so happy,” said Cheung Chau resident Chow Hoi-kiu.
“The performers are having a hard day. They started the day’s preparation early. I’m sure it’s tough and so we are here to watch and support them.”
There were long lines outside shops selling steam buns and stores stocked with bun-themed souvenirs.
Kwok Kam Kee Cake Shop owner Kwok Siu-kan said she hopes the buns will bring people prosperity.
“If you eat the buns, you will have even more peace and safety,” Kwok said.
The event, also known as the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival, has been celebrated for over 100 years, according to the Intangible Cultural Heritage Office. It said according to folklore, residents started the rituals and traditions to dispel disaster and pray for blessings after the island was devastated by a plague.