Published : 12/01/2026
Many villages in Hong Kong have the custom of holding the Jiao Festival, also known as "Da Chiu" (打醮), and the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival is undoubtedly the most prominent one.
This annual grand event, through its lifelike Floating Colours Parade (飄色巡遊) and thrilling Bun Scrambling Competition, has successfully pushed a local religious ritual onto the international stage.
Here are six key figures that illustrate the unique qualities of this national-level intangible cultural heritage.
A history of over 100 years
The tradition of the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival (長洲太平清醮) has been practised for more than 100 years.
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 (北帝廟) to pray to deities, repent and to comfort departed souls from the land and the sea.
The residents also paraded deity statues along village lanes. The plague did cease after the ritual. Since then, residents on Cheung Chau have been organising the annual Jiao Festival to express gratitude to Pak Tai for blessing the area with peace.
Twice suspension of the Bun Scrambling Competition
The Cheung Chau Bun Festival's Bun Scrambling Competition, which has been passed down for over a hundred years, has been suspended twice.
"Bun Scrambling Competition" is the main event of the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival. According to tradition, the buns on the bun towers are a symbol of good fortune, and the higher their position, the greater the fortune, which is why everyone scrambles to grab them.
However, in 1978, because too many Cheung Chau residents climbed the bun towers to grab buns, two towers failed to bear the load and collapsed, injuring 24 people. Since then, the British Hong Kong Government banned the event until its revival in 2005.
From 2022 to 2024, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cheung Chau Bun Scrambling Competition was announced to be cancelled again, and was only resumed in 2023 as the pandemic eased.
300 people compete to be performers in Floating Colours Parade
Floating Colours Parade, or Piu Sik Parade (飄色巡遊), is another highlight of the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival.
The children participating in the parade, also known as "sik sam" (色芯), will dress up as mythological characters, historical figures or newsmakers, and parade through the streets on a mobile stage about two metres high.
In reality, a supporting steel frame, "sik kang" (色梗), with a small seat is cleverly concealed between the child and the platform, allowing them to sit securely. As the frame is ingeniously hidden, the children appear to float in mid-air, giving the tradition its name—"Floats" or "Floating Colours".
Due to the limited load-bearing capacity of the frame, the protagonists in floating colours parade must weigh no more than 40 pounds and be under 100 centimetres in height, and they are generally played by young children aged 4 to 7.
In 2025, the Cheung Chau San Hing Street Kaifong Association (長洲新興街街坊) held an open audition for floating colours parade performers, attracting 300 applicants to compete for 10 spots, and received an enthusiastic response.
Held in the first 10 days of the fourth lunar month
Held annually in the first 10 days of the fourth lunar month, the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival has now developed into a major tourist event in Hong Kong. However, beyond the bustling celebrations, what is truly passed down is the islanders' strong fishing village cultural spirit.
For the islanders of Cheung Chau, the most important aspects of the Jiao Festival are two core values: giving thanks to the deities and comforting the lonely ghosts.
Therefore, during the Jiao festival, the islanders will observe a three-day vegetarian diet to show their respect for the deities and will invite Taoist priests to perform various rituals.
When the tourists watch the parade, their focus may be on the floating colours parade. But for the islanders, the most important part of the parade are the deities participating in the Jiao festival.
During the parade, islanders would carry the divine palanquins (also known as god sedans or god sedan chairs) enshrining the major deities through the streets to drive away the filth and evil spirits in the community.
As for the popular floating colours parade teams, as described by the media, they are merely in a "cheerleading role" following the deities.
The ghost-feeding ritual, which takes place after the parade and before the bun scrambling contest, is also a key part of the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival. Islanders will prepare vegetarian food as offerings to the wandering ghosts of land and sea, and invite Taoist masters to chant sutras for their salvation.
Finally, the "King of Ghosts" (大士王) effigy is burned, symbolising the departure of the lonely, wandering ghosts from the mortal world, which allows the community to return to cleanliness and peace.
5 ingredients to make lucky buns
Lucky buns, also known as "spirit buns," are offerings used to worship deities and placate wandering spirits.
According to the long-established Cheung Chau bakery Kwok Kam Kee (郭錦記), lucky buns are made with five simple ingredients: flour, sugar, yeast, baking powder, and water, with no preservatives. The fillings come in three traditional varieties: red bean paste, lotus seed paste, and sesame paste.
In the past, lucky buns were often stamped with the Chinese character "壽" (meaning longevity), but nowadays the characters "平安" (meaning peace and safety) are mainly used.
In the past, residents would hang lucky buns outside their doors or in their shops to ward off evil spirits. Islanders also kept lucky buns on their fishing boats, and when a fisherman felt unwell, they would grind the lucky bun into a powder and drink it with water, as a panacea to pray for a speedy recovery.
Traditionally, lucky buns were only available during Cheung Chau Jiao Festival. However, as the event has grown into a major tourist attraction, lucky buns have gradually evolved into a year-round specialty of Cheung Chau, and their flavours and appearances have also become increasingly innovative and diverse.
Governor's participation in the 1960s
Starting from the 1960s, the participation of Hong Kong Governor greatly increased the fame of the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival.
The visit of Governor Robert Black in 1961 made the small island's festival a focus of attention throughout Hong Kong. After Hong Kong's return to its motherland in 1997, the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival was even inscribed on the Third National List of Representative Items of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2011, further affirming its cultural value.