HKFP Lens: Hong Kong's Cheung Chau bun festival returns – with fewer visitors than last year

Hong Kong's iconic bun festival on Cheung Chau Island attracted tens of thousands of people on Monday, but visitor numbers were lower compared with last year.
Held annually on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, which coincides with Buddha's Birthday, the Jiao Festival features a parade, lion dance, Chinese opera performances, and concludes with the late-night bun scramble competition.
Islands District Councillor Kwok Wai-man told an RTHK programme on Tuesday that around 40,000 people flocked to this year's festival – down from 51,000 revellers last year.
According to Sun Ferry, which operates the ferry service between Central and Cheung Chau, there were around 44,200 passenger trips as of 9pm on Monday – a 19 per cent drop from last year.
The festival, said to date back to the 1800s, attracts both local residents and foreign tourists. The government downsized the scale of the festival in 2020 to 2022, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. It returned to full scale in 2023, attracting 43,000 people to the island.
One of the festival's highlights was the Piu Sik, which translates as 'Floating Colours' – during which children in fancy dress are held up on towering poles and paraded through the winding streets of the outlying island.
Traditionally, they dress up in satirical costumes mimicking top government officials and lawmakers. This year, some were spotted dressed as Finance Secretary Paul Chan.
In the evening, the island held Cantonese opera performances for deities, known as 'Sun Kung Hei.'
The festival culminated in a late-night scramble by competitors up a precipitous 18-metre 'bun tower' made from imitation buns.
Around 1,650 spectators watched 12 finalists – nine men and three women – collect as many buns as possible within a three-minute time limit.
Ice climber Janet Kung and firefighter Jason Kwok won the competition this year.
Kwok, a 10-time champion, defended the 'Bun King' title, while Kung, a three-time winner, claimed the 'Bun Queen' title.

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