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Bun Festival (太平清譙, literally "Peace Tower") is a traditional Chinese festival in Hong Kong. It is held by several (mostly rural) communities, either annually or once every few years. By far the most famous is the Bun Festival at Cheung Chau, which draws tens of thousands of local and overseas tourists every year.
The Bun Festival began as a ritual for fishing communities to pray for safety from pirates. Today this religious origin has largely been forgotten, and the festival has become a showcase of traditional Chinese culture above all else.
The Bun Festival in Cheung Chau
One of the reputed origins of this festival is that in the 18th Century, the island of Cheung Chau was devastated by a plague and infiltrated by pirates until local fishermen brought an image of the god Pak Tai to the island. Paraded through the village lanes, the deity drove away evil spirits.
Every year on the 8th day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, the islanders organise a week-long thanksgiving, the Cheung Chau Bun Festival (usually in April or May). The festival lasts for seven days. On three of these days the entire island goes vegetarian; even the island's famous seafood restaurants and the local McDonald's have to abide by this tradition.
During the festival a parade of floats would be held, with children dressed as historical characters and famous personalities being held up into the air by poles, doing delicate balancing acts.
The centrepiece of the festival are the "Bun Mountains", three giant bamboo towers covered with buns. Historically, young men would race up the tower to get hold of the buns; the higher the bun, the better fortune it was supposed to bring to the holder's family. However, during a race in 1978 one of the towers collapsed, causing injuries to more than 100 people. Since then the buns would be handed out to anyone who joins the queue. It is these bun-covered towers that give the festival its name.
The "Bun Mountains" are placed on the area in front of the Pak Tai temple.
During the festival, Chinese operas, lion dances, and religious services take place on the island.
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