The Cheung Chau Bun Festival 2015

Falling on the fifth to the ninth days of the fourth lunar month, this colourful and energetic festival returns this year and the people of Cheung Chau have been busy preparing.

It is an annual event that lures thousands of people, who pour into the quaint island that is one of the quirkiest local festivals you can imagine. With a bamboo tower erected, locals adorned in delightful costumes and the appetising sent of the traditional baked buns offer the senses a feast to revel in.

The festival can be dated all the way back to the late Qing Dynasty that stretched from 1644 through to 1911, where a horrendous plague overwhelmed the locals of Cheung Chau. With the community being a deeply spiritual one, the people constructed an altar and also they flowed through the narrow lanes and streets with statues of deities in a bid to warn of the evil spirits that cursed their homes.

With the Taoist rituals calling an end to the plague, the tradition is repeated year after year and over the past 100 years the Cheung Chau Bun Festival has become a significant part of China’s cultural heritage.

Those joining the crowds this year at the festival will enjoy the popular Taoist ceremonies and entertainment in the form of musical performances, lion dances and more. Be sure to not miss out on the extremely exciting Bun Scrambling Competition where there will be a tower of buns!

What: The Cheung Chau Bun Festival 2015
When: 22nd-26th May 2015
Where: Cheung Chau, China