Hong Kong bun-tower builder happy to return and create traditional bamboo structures for Cheung Chau festival after metal substitutes draw criticism
- Only contractor with skills to construct bamboo towers pledges to continue the tradition after festival forced to use shorter steel structures this year
- Bamboo bun towers said to be ‘a signature of the festival’ and in everyone’s interest that they make a return for future events
The only contractor in Hong Kong with the skills to build bamboo bun towers has pledged to continue the tradition in the future after manpower shortages forced his team to pull out of their construction this year.
Chan Kam-yuen, who has more than 40 years’ experience in building the traditional towers and inherited the secrets from three generations of his family, spoke out on Tuesday after the replacement metal towers another contractor had created for the annual festival in Cheung Chau were much shorter than usual.
The news that the towers had gone from the normal height of about 50 feet (15.25 metres) to just 15 feet sparked criticism from Cheung Chau residents and on social media.
Chan said: “We are sorry we can’t build the towers this year and that the towers have been downsized.”
The contractor, who is in his fifties and grew up in Cheung Chau, explained he and his brother had suffered health problems and his nephew was too busy with his own work schedule to fit in the job for the festival, which is being held for first time since it was suspended in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.