Holidaymakers Flock To Cheung Chau Despite Warnings

Some members of the public have shrugged off official requests not to visit Cheung Chau for the holiday on Thursday and went to the island anyway - even though the annual bun scrambling competition is not taking place, and crowd numbers are down from last year.

The competition, in which people clamber up bamboo structures to grab buns, was cancelled in February, as part of social distancing measures intended to stem the spread of Covid-19.

Despite the cancellation of the bun-scrambling, the traditional festival runs until May the first.

It's taken place for more than a century and is thought to have its origins in rituals performed at the Pak Tai Temple in the 18th Century intended to quell a plague.

One woman said she decided to come to Cheung Chau to buy buns to wish her family and Hong Kong well.

She added that there were more people on the island than she had expected, and said she would take precautions to protect herself from the virus.

A man who owns a bun-selling shop, said he estimated that he could sell 40,000 buns this year, which is 30 per cent lower than last year.

He added that sales were still better than he had expected, although the long weekend was probably helping.

New World First Ferry said 5,900 people had used its Central-to-Cheung Chau service by noon on Thursday. That's half the amount recorded last year during the same period.

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