29/05/2026

LYFE FRIDAY | MAY 29, 2026

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TRAVEL BUG

Piu Sik Parade Piu Sik (floating colours) revolves around the parade of deities around the island, so they can inspect every street and corner and chase away evil spirits. Children are dressed as legendary deities or modern heroes on stilts, giving the illusion that they are floating mid-air. Among the unique themes highlighted by the “floating children” in the parade this year include rising oil prices and bid rigging in wake of the deadly Tai Po fire. The parade also features troupes dispatched by local neighbourhoods and organisations, including lion and kirin dancers, marching bands and percussion ensembles. The parade winds through the main streets of the town centre.

A girl dressed as a judge from TVB court drama Themis .

Lion dance at the Piu Sik Parade brings good fortune, prosperity and harmony.

Kirin dance performance to ward off evil spirits and bless the community.

Children appear to be floating mid-air.

o Traditions come alive at Cheung Chau island with bun towers, ‘floating’ kids dressed as deities See also page 23 Only in Hong Kong

Ű BY EE ANN NEE

T HE Cheung Chau Bun Festival drew tens of thousands of visitors to the island earlier this week, showcasing Hong Kong’s rich cultural heritage. Cheung Chau was traditionally a fishing village and still has fishing fleets working from the harbour, but in recent years, the island has become a tourist attraction, offering a mixture of beaches, seafood restaurants and traditional Chinese culture. Legends say that Cheung Chau was devastated by a plague in the late Qing dynasty. To dispel the disaster, Huizhou and Chiu Chow natives invited accomplished monks and Taoist priests and set up a sacrificial altar in front of Pak Tai Temple to pray to deities, repent and to

with peace. Held on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, it coincides with the celebration of Buddha’s Birthday last Sunday. The highlights of the festival include the Piu Sik Parade, bun scrambling competition and the Ping On buns.

comfort departed souls from the land and the sea. The residents also paraded deity statues along village lanes. The plague ceased after the ritual. Since then, residents of Cheung Chau have been organising the annual festival to express gratitude to Pak Tai for blessing the area

The higher buns yield more points.

Competitors scramble up the 14m bun tower to collect as many buns as possible.

Bun scrambling competition Twelve finalists scrambled up the bun tower to gather as many buns as they could within a three-minute time limit to vie for the championships. Apart from the individual race, there was also an invitation relay in which three teams

runner-up in previous years. “For the invitation relay, the most challenging part of the competition is speed and you have no room for mistake, as any missteps will get you stuck (in the wire mesh) and delay your timing,” he told theSun .

from Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Macau competed against seven local teams from Cheung Chau. First runner-up Zhuhai Climbing Association Team’s You Kai Xiang, 33, found the competition “interesting”, adding his team has even won champion and first

Children dressed as iconic figures from Chinese history and folklore.