Type:Incident

Description:Before the incident, the number of contestants scrambling up the towers were uncontrolled. That day, about 200 people were climbing up the three towers, and one collapsed as the unsteady structure was unable to support the weight, injuring more than 100 people. The government banned the competition after that. They resumed it in 2005 after organisers agreed to limit the number of participants and use steel A-frames for the main tower's scaffolding, which is erected as a fourth separate tower in a nearby sports ground. In 2007, plastic buns replaced the real ones on the separate tower due to hygiene problems. [show more]

Type:Physical Object

Subject:Pak Tai Temple Altar
祭壇

Description:Residents built an altar in front of the Pak Tai Temple and hired priests to appease the spirits of those that died during the outbreak. The plague eventually ended after these rituals were performed. More than 100 years later, the festival marks the occasion from the fifth to the ninth days of the fourth lunar month. Many of the ceremonies and traditions remain unchanged, such as inviting Taoist priests to perform rituals, and serving vegetarian food. [show more]

Type:Physical Object

Subject:Bungalow
Holiday Resort

Description:The Bela Vista Villa are a series of bungalows gathered near the Tung Wan beach in central Cheung Chau. It has been said to be haunted after a woman with marital problems killed his son and proceeded to hang herself wearing Chinese traditional clothes in 1989. Since then, there were repeated sightings of her ghost around the area, and more than 20 cases of suicides occurred within the resort. Of these cases, many were linked to burning charcoal, hence its nickname "the Resort of Charcoal Suicide". However, to this day, it is still a popular dwelling location for visitors, with rentals especially soaring during the most famous festival on the island. [show more]

Type:Event

Subject:dance
traditional performance

Description:Brave troops dance is a traditional folk dance popular in Meilongtou, Wuchuan City, Zhanjiang, Guangdong. During the Chinese New Year or festive day, the local people must dance, or cooperate with the national martial arts team and various colors to perform parade together, for the hope for peace and luck in the year. [show more]

Type:Deity

Subject:Deity
God
Teacher

Description:In Buddhism, Buddha is a title for someone who has achieved enlightenment, nirvana and Buddhahood, and has fully comprehended the Four Noble Truths.The title is most commonly used for Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, who is often simply known as "the Buddha". The word Buddha means "the awakened one" or "the enlightened one". According to the Chinese Buddhist tradition, the title is literally translated as "the knowing one".In Buddhism they also refer the budda as the teacher who teach diverse culture [show more]

Type:Event

Subject:Festival
Carnival

Description:It is a traditional Chinese festival on the island of Cheung Chau in Hong Kong.It will held annually and with the most public exposure.It draws tens of thousands of local and overseas tourists every year, is staged to mark the Eighth day of the Fourth Month, in the Chinese calendar,which is also as same as the Buddha's Birthday.It is believed that the original of the festival is in the 18th century due to 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.Villagers will disguised themselves as different deities and walked around the island to drive away the evil spirits. This custom and origin formed the festival every year. [show more]

Type:Physical Object

Subject:Bamboo tower
Ping On Bun
Cheung Chau Bun Festival

Description:The centrepiece of the festival is at Pak Tai Temple where the "Bun Mountains" or "Bun Towers"(包山) stand. These are three giant 60-feet bamboo towers covered with buns. It is these bun-covered towers that give the festival its name. From the 1800s, real Ping On buns were used to cover the towers. However, after 2005, plastic Ping On buns are replacing real buns every year. [show more]

Type:Event

Subject:Competition

Description:Three conical 60-feet bamboo towers covered in Ping On steamed buns would be erected outside of Pak Tai Temple. This competition consists of participants scrambling up a bun tower and trying to grab as many buns into their bags as possible within the 3-minute time limit. The higher-up the buns, the more points they are worth. Relay races were added in 2006. Held on the last day of the weeklong festival, is the highlight of the Cheung Chau Bun Festival. [show more]

Type:Event

Subject:Paper effigy

Description:It is a ceremony at the night before the end of the Cheung Chau Bun Festival. It is believed that this can release the souls of ghosts that are still in the human world, and the ghosts can also get clothes, money and food through this ceremony. This ceremony opens the pathway between the human world and the nether world, so that the ghosts can leave the human world. During this ceremony, females, especially pregnant women must stay away and males need to bring a red pocket to protect themselves. The "Ghost King" is a ten feet tall paper effigy for controlling the ghosts. At the end of the ceremony, the "Ghost King" is burnt, and the ghosts that bring bad fortune and diseases would be gone. [show more]

Type:Others

Subject:Outlying Islands

Description:It is an island located in the southeast of Lantau Island, and the southwest of the Hong Kong Island. It is included in the Island District (one of the 18 districts) in Hong Kong. It is a famous tourist spot. Some popular places in Cheung Chau include the Cheung Po Tsai Cave, and the Pak Tai Temple, but the most attracting event must be the Bun Festival. [show more]