Women and their plastic buns on Cheung Chau

After a tower collapsed in 1978, the bun tower scramble was banned. The custom only resumed in 2005 with modifications. The modern version of the bun tower scramble uses steel towers, plastic buns, professional climbing gear, and hard rules. Only 12 qualifying climbers can participate in the finals and they are limited to three minutes on the tower. The buns they snatch off the tower earn them different points -- the higher up the bun, the more points it is worth. 

Modernizing has increased the competitive element of the bun tower scramble and attracted athletes who contest for boasting rights. Although some lament turning a folk custom into a mere sport, the event will attract an estimated 45-50,000 visitors to Cheung Chau Island. Many are eager to see the crowning of the first Cheung Chau bun festival queen, as this is the first time men and women will compete in separate categories. 

We visited Cheung Chau on May 15 to witness the qualifying race for women and meet the bun-crazy ladies.

No buns were used for the qualifying heats. Competitors had to race to the top of a steel tower covered in bamboo poles and the top 12 would qualify for the finals. Plastic lucky buns will cover the entire bamboo structure for the final event, and competitors must grab as many of them as they can within three minutes. Buns located at the top of the tower are worth nine points, while the ones near the bottom are only worth one.

A total of 145 people applied for the qualifying races, out of which 34 were female. At the end of the day, the fastest male time was just 7.75 seconds and the fastest female time was 12.8 seconds.

The Cheung Chau bun festival attracts women who may have never climbed before. Lam Chung Ting (right) has no experience with climbing, but entered the competition after friends encouraged her. Now she's hooked. "I’ve gained confidence and I’m determined to do even better next year," Lam said

Tsang Woon Ming (left) is a champion long distance runner who has never climbed prior to the training session a week earlier. "I joined the bun scrambling competition because I wanted to be a part of a proud Hong Kong cultural event," Tsang said. She was very happy with her first climb and will participate again next year.

Yuen Wing Sze (left) is an experienced rock climber, just 18 years old. Yuen wanted to compete for many years but had to wait until this year to meet the age requirement. She was the youngest to qualify as a finalist for the competition and claims "rock climbing is much more difficult than this, you have to use your brain in rock climbing but this race is all about speed."

Edid Li (right) is another 18 year-old in the contest. Li is a runner and has no experience of climbing. Although she didn't qualify, she will return in the years to come to gauge her progress. "I wanted to challenge myself, but I didn’t tell any of my friends I entered in case I didn’t do well."

Although crowds are expected to reach 50,000 at the Cheung Chau bun festival, only 1,500 spectators will be allowed for the bun tower scramble final competition. Spectator tickets for finals will be distributed at the Cheung Chau Fire Station starting at 10pm on the day.