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Master and commander for tallest of orders

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Expert Chan Lam's five decades of skill are pivotal to the Bun Festival's success

Each day during the past few weeks, a group of muscular young workmen have clambered like spiders over bamboo structures in front of Pak Tai Temple in Cheung Chau to set the stage for the famous Bun Festival.

The sight of an 81-year-old man toiling away amid the strenuous work might look odd, but Chan Lam, the island's authority in the art of bun-tower construction, plays a vital role in the success of the annual festival, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors to the small island.

Mr Chan has been in charge of the construction of three bun towers, up to 16 metres high, every year for almost five decades. But the job was made even harder this year as festival organisers tried to get permission to allow climbers to race to the top of the towers, a tradition which has been banned for 26 years on safety grounds.

'Of course, I want to see the game revived. It will bring much more fun to the festival and attract more tourists,' Mr Chan said.

In recent years, he has recruited a team of apprentices - his sons and grandsons - to teach them the art of construction.

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