The traditional highlight of one of Hong Kong's most colourful festivals will make a welcome return tomorrow after a sad 27-year absence. The great bun-tower climb is back.
This midnight scramble for coveted buns, which are believed to bring good health and good luck, will once again provide the prime attraction at the Cheung Chau festival. But it will take a very different form from that which has prevailed for most of the past 200 years.
Traditionally, male members of the tight-knit Cheung Chau fishing community clambered athletically up a high bamboo tower to retrieve the buns. Great pride was taken in the event. But that came to an abrupt end in 1978 as a result of a nasty accident. The tower collapsed, injuring 100 people. The competition was subsequently banned.
It has been allowed to make a come-back this year, thanks to stringent safety measures enforced by the government. The bamboo tower has been replaced by one made of steel. The climb has also been opened up to non-Cheung Chau residents and also, rightly, to women. Only 12 finalists, trained by mountaineers, will be allowed to take part on the big night. And they will be provided with backpacks in which to place their buns.
This sanitised version lacks much of the character of the traditional event. It also takes it further away from its spiritual island roots. It has not found favour with the older generation of Cheung Chau's inhabitants. But at least the event will, it is hoped, be safe. And it is better to have a new version of the original than no bun climb at all.
The event - and the festival generally - is expected to be a big hit with locals and tourists alike. A crowd of 50,000 is expected to descend on Cheung Chau for the various events. They include the famous procession of costume-clad 'floating' children, as well as dragon dances and Cantonese opera. The spiritual origins of the festival will still be evident. It began as a ritual to appease the spirits of islanders who died from an outbreak of plague.