Cheng Chau Festival (Festival of the Bun Hills)

The Cheung Chau Festival begins on the eighth day of the Fourth Moon and lasts for four days. It is one of the most unusual and dangerous of all Chinese festivals. Four days of religious rites, Chinese operas and the burning of paper clothing as gifts, is supposed to make ghosts and edgy spirits happy. Hong Kong takes on a party like atmosphere, with processions and celebrations at every turn.
Huge structures towering in the sky have been built and covered to the top with bread buns. In the past, a signal was given and the young scrambled up the towers, picking as many buns as they could hold. It is believed the more buns you grabbed, the more good luck blessings you received. The date and time of this unique ceremony are announced a week before.
The processions and parades held during this time are spectacles of colour. People dress up as legendary figures, ride on flowered floats and walk on stilts. The young play a major role in the processions with children perched above the crowd in makeup and costumes. They almost seem suspended in air.