Cheung Chau Introduction of Cheung Chau: Cheung Chau is a small island 10 km southwest of Hong Kong Island, is nicknamed as the ‘dumbbell island’ for its shape. It has been inhabited for longer than most other places in the territory of Hong Kong, with a population of about 23,000 up to 2006. Administratively, it is part of the Islands District. There are eight bays in Cheung Chau. Restaurants of all sorts, from seafood cuisine to western pubs and restaurants, are opened on the island. The tourist attractions of that area: Cheung Chau Bun Festival (a state-level non-material cultural heritage): Cheung Chau Bun Festival is a traditional Chinese festival on the island of Cheung Chau in Hong Kong. Being held annually, and with therefore the most public exposure, it is by far the most famous of such Da Jiu festivals, with Jiu (? ) being a Taoist sacrificial ceremony. Such events are held by mostly rural communities in Hong Kong, either annually or at a set interval of years ranging all the way up to once every 60 years (i. e. he same year in the Chinese astrological calendar). Cheung Chau’s Bun Festival, which draws tens of thousands of local and overseas tourists every year, is staged to mark the Eighth day of the Fourth Moon, in the Chinese calendar (this is usually in early May). History: One story of the origin of the 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.
Villagers also disguised themselves as different deities and walked around the island to drive away the evil spirits. Activities: (i) Parade of floats / Parade-in-the-air In addition to traditional lion dances and dragon dances, children dressed as legendary and modern heroes are suspended above the crowd on the tips of swords and paper fans (?? ). They form the parade-in-the-air and are all secured within steel frames, though they appear to glide through the air. Parents consider it a great honour for their offspring to be part of the parade.
This fascinating procession is accompanied by the bedlam of musicians loudly beating gongs and drums to scare away evil spirits. It is led by a spectacular image of Pak Tai, the God of Water and Spirit of the North, to whom the island’s Temple of the Jade Vacuity is dedicated. (ii) Bun snatching Steamed buns for the “Bun Mountain”, being stamped the crimson characters of the respective district on the island. The centrepiece of the festival is at Pak Tai Temple where are the “Bun Mountains” or “Bun Towers”(?? ), three giant 60-feet bamboo towers covered with buns.
It is those bun-covered towers that give the festival its name. 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; the race was known as “Bun-snatching” (??? ). However, during a race in 1978 one of the towers collapsed, injuring more than 100 people. In subsequent years, three designated climbers (one climber to each tower) raced up their respective towers and having cleared the top buns proceeded to strip the towers of their buns as they descended.
The three “Bun Mountains” are still placed in the area in front of Pak Tai Temple, and are constructed using the traditional fixation method—bamboo scaffolding. In 2005, a single tower climbing event in the adjacent sports ground was revived as a race—with extra safety precautions including proper mountain-climbing tools as well as tutorials for participants (which now include women). A teamwork version of the event was added in 2006. The revised version of “Bun-snatching” as well as the traditional three “Bun Mountains” still have their buns removed from the towers at midnight of the Festival.
In February 2007, it was further announced that the buns on the single-tower construct will henceforth be made of plastic. During the festival, Chinese operas, lion dances, and religious services also take place on the island. ?Tourists Spots (i)Temples • Pak Tai Temple – one of the oldest temples in Hong Kong. The temple was built in 1783. It was demolished and completely rebuilt in 1989. In front of the temple, there are 4 pairs of guarding lions.
Before the altar are statues of two generals, Thousand Miles Eye and Favourable Wind Ear, who together are traditionally said to be able to hear and see anything • Four temples dedicated to Tin Hau, including the Pak She Tin Hau Temple • Kwan Kung Chung Yi Ting, a traditional temple built in 1973, dedicated to the god of justice Kwan Tai (ii) Others • A cave, alleged to be the hiding place of Cheung Po Tsai, a 19th century pirate • Rock carving located near Tung Wan Beach were reported by geologists in 1970, and are declared monuments of Hong Kong.
This 3000-year-old rock carving is located on the east of the island, immediately below the Warwick Hotel. It consists of two groups of similar carved lines surrounding small depressions. • Tung Wan and Kwun Yam Wan beaches • The Mini Great Wall is a path located at the back of the hillside of Kwun Yam Wan leading to the ‘three rocks’ (the Vase, the Bell, and the Head). The path got its name from its appearance, which resembles the Great Wall. The hospitality facilities ?Restaurants: ???? :????? 3? (????? ) Hometown Members Club:????? 17??? (??? Kwok Kam Kee Cake Shop:????? 46?? (??? ) ????? :????? 106??? (?? ) Hing Lok Restaurant:??????? 11D?? (seafood) ? Hotel: The Warwick Hotel B & B Tung Wan Guest House(12-14, Tung Wan Road, Cheung Chau, Hong Kong) The shopping areas Some shops which sell food and some market near the pier. Hand-made market ( stores( $150 per day). Sell Lighting, layout, table, charm… The supporting transportation facilities First Ferry operates ferries service between Central pier and Cheung Chau. The ferries run approximately every 30 minutes depending upon time of day.
Schedules on Sundays and public holidays differ from weekdays. The trip of about 20 kilometers takes 55 minutes or 35 minutes for ordinary ferries and high speed ferries respectively. Due to inaccessibility to cars and other vehicles, most residents use bicycles for personal transportation, and a number of bicycle rental shops near the ferry pier rent bicycles to tourists. Various schedules of a day trip to that area ???? 1 ???? >??? >????? >??? >??? >???? >??? >??? (?? ) >????? >??? ???? 2 ??? >???? >???????? >???? >??? ????? ???? 3 ????? >???? >??? >??? >??? >??? >??? >????? >???? Addition points: Every year on the 8th day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, the islanders organise a weeklong 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[citation needed] goes vegetarian; most of the island’s famous seafood restaurants adhere to this tradition. The local McDonald’s also takes meat off the menu and instead sells burgers made of mushrooms.
