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2022 Bun Carnival cancelled

In view of the latest developments of COVID-19, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) announced today (March 4) that the activities for the 2022 Bun Carnival originally scheduled to be held from April to May at the soccer pitch of Pak Tai Temple Playground on Cheung Chau has been cancelled.

The 2022 Bun Carnival is jointly organised by the Hong Kong Cheung Chau Bun Festival Committee and the LCSD. After thorough deliberation, the organising committee has decided to cancel related activities in order to avoid people gathering and to reduce social contact and the risk of the spread of COVID-19 in the community.

Activities that have been cancelled include:

(1) Training on Bun Tower Climbing;

(2) The Selection Contest for the Bun Scrambling Competition;

(3) The Climbing Carnival;

(4) The Bun Scrambling Competition.

Nevertheless, the ongoing Student Colouring and Drawing Competitions of the 2022 Bun Carnival will continue. The LCSD will notify the winners individually and awards will be sent to the respective schools after the assessment. Hard copies of the winning entries will be displayed at some of the LCSD's venues in the Islands District and waiting areas of ferry piers to and from Cheung Chau. The LCSD will also upload e-copies of the winning entries to the Multimedia Information System of the Hong Kong Public Libraries in order to promote the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival's tradition of bun scrambling and local customs among the public.

As for enquiries of the Jiao Festival organised by the Bun Festival Committee, please call 2981 2329. For more information on the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival, which has been inscribed onto the Third National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2011, please visit here

Festival Introduction

Cheung Chau Jiao Festival has been practised for more than 100 years. Legends say that Cheung Chau was devastated by a plague in the late Qing dynasty. To dispel the disaster, Huizhou and Chiu Chow natives invited Taoist priests and set up a sacrificial altar near the Pak Tai Temple to pray to deities, repent and to comfort departed souls from the land and the sea. The residents also paraded deity statues along village lanes. The plague did cease after the ritual. Since then, residents on Cheung Chau have been organising the annual Jiao Festival to express gratitude to Pak Tai for blessing the area with peace. For more than a century, Cheung Chau residents never stopped organising the annual Jiao Festival to dispel disaster and pray for blessings for peace and safety. With residents' participation every year, the ritual has been passed down through the generations. Cheung Chau Jiao Festival was inscribed onto the third national list of ICH in 2011.

Since the revival of the bun scrambling contest of Cheung Chau in 2005, the annual Bun Carnival has been well received by the public. The wide range of programmes offered by the Bun Carnival, including the Selection Contest for the Bun Scrambling Competition, the Climbing Carnival and the Bun Scrambling Competition, each year attract over 10 000 participants as well as tens of thousands of spectators from home and overseas. The Bun Scrambling Competition, in particular, has been the focus of attention and is now one of the most representative traditional festivities in Hong Kong. It helps to strengthen Cheung Chau’s local economy, promote climbing sport and boost tourism in Hong Kong.

The Bun Carnival to be staged at the soccer pitch of Pak Tai Temple Playground, Cheung Chau is jointly organised by the Hong Kong Cheung Chau Bun Festival Committee and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, in association with the Cheung Chau Wai Chiu County Association Limited, the Cheung Chau Rural Committee, the Islands District Office and the China Hong Kong Mountaineering and Climbing Union Limited. Sponsored by the Islands District Council, the carnival aims to familiarise the public with the bun scrambling tradition and local customs.

The programme of the Bun Carnival is packed with a variety of interesting activities such as Training and Selection Contest for the Bun Scrambling Competition, the Bun Scrambling Competition and the Climbing Carnival. The Climbing Carnival is an opportunity for the public to enjoy the fun of bun tower climbing. Activities include stall games, handicraft making, variety show, climbing demonstrations and fun day, as well as display of winning entries in the Colouring and Drawing Competitions for Students. Climbing training will be provided for participants of the Bun Scrambling Competition. In addition to the individual event, an invitation relay will be organised for local groups in Cheung Chau to compete against climbing athletes from neighbouring areas.

The e-copies of the winning entries of the Colouring and Drawing Competitions for Students 2022 will be uploaded to the Multimedia Information System of Hong Kong Public Libraries.

Festival Details

• Cheung Chau Jiao Festival 2022
• Date: 5 May - 9 May, 2022
• Location: Pak Tai Temple
• Address: Pak Tai Temple, Pak She Street, Cheung Chau, Hong Kong

Information Source: LCSD official website | 長洲太平清醮值理會 | Facebook