Rising a staggering 10-meter high , the bun mountains (bun towers) that are erected for the Bun Festival on Cheung Chau Island are constructed with bamboo and wooden poles and decorated with colorful floral boards, flags and couplets.
They are then covered with over 6,000 steamed buns stamped in red ink with the auspicious word "shou", meaning longevity, and sewn together with hemp string.
The towers were originally constructed in order to make an offering of the buns to the gods, who in return would help drive away evil spirits and protect the island.
At midnight on the last day of the festival, after all religious ceremonies and rituals had been performed, there would be an exciting scramble as people climbed the towers and made a grab for the "lucky" buns, which were said to bring protection and good fortune.
Unfortunately, a tower collapsed during the scramble in 1978, causing many injuries, and the practice was suspended. In the following years, buns were distributed to the participants in a safe and orderly fashion the next morning.
In 2005, the bun scramble was resumed in the form of a race in which athletes climb a metal tower erected at the site and grab "simulated" buns made of plastic.
Credit : History Museum of HK.
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