Cheung Chau Bun Festival draws crowds despite heat

Tens of thousands of locals and tourists braved scorching temperatures Monday to celebrate Cheung Chau's annual Bun Festival, with its signature Piu Sik Parade in the afternoon and the thrilling bun-scrambling finals at midnight.

Sun Ferry reported transporting approximately 19,700 passengers to Cheung Chau between 8am and 5pm, and 11,400 passengers from Cheung Chau to Central.

To accommodate the Bun Scrambling competition at midnight, the ferry operator will run an additional ordinary ferry service from Cheung Chau to Central at 1.15 am on Tuesday (May 6) to transport spectators returning to urban areas after the event.

Long queues snaked through Central Pier No.5 by 11am as visitors, including many mainland tourists wrapping up their Labor Day holiday, waited to board ferries.

Among them was Jia, a visitor from Shenzhen who came specifically to experience the festival with her child.

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 "The bun festival is part of Hong Kong's intangible cultural heritage," she said, adding that they had booked their accommodation a month in advance.

Another tourist, Chen from Dongguan, altered his itinerary after seeing recommendations on Xiaohongshu.

“We originally planned to shop in Tsim Sha Tsui but decided to come here instead," he said while enjoying fish balls, a local specialty.

The festival's unique traditions captivated foreign visitors too. A first-time visitor from the United States found the Bun Festival eye-opening and thrilling, after enjoying lion dances at the pier. He’s most excited to watch the bun scrambling competition.

Citizen Lam, who traveled from Tin Shui Wai, arrived early to savor Cheung Chau's vegetarian offerings, including McDonald's limited-edition meatless burgers available only on the island during the festival. 

“I left home at 7am,” he said. “It's absolutely worth it."

Martin Kwok Yu-tin, owner of traditional cake shop Kwok Kam Kee, selling the island’s iconic lucky bun, also known as Ping On bun, estimated they would sell nearly 20,000 lucky buns by day's end.

To attract customers, the shop introduced 600 special buns with dual fillings of sesame and lotus seed paste, nearly half of which sold out by noon.

Shops on the island also capitalized on the panda heat with themed merchandise combining panda and bun, which proved popular souvenirs.

"Tourists are much more willing to spend this year," said shopkeeper Wong. "Almost everyone who comes in buys something."

However, a guesthouse saw only 50 percent occupancy for Monday night as many visitors planned to leave after the midnight bun-scrambling event.

(Ayra Wang)