Latest news with #SunFerry
HKFP
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- HKFP
HKFP Lens: Hong Kong's Cheung Chau bun festival returns – with fewer visitors than last year
Hong Kong's iconic bun festival on Cheung Chau Island attracted tens of thousands of people on Monday, but visitor numbers were lower compared with last year. Held annually on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, which coincides with Buddha's Birthday, the Jiao Festival features a parade, lion dance, Chinese opera performances, and concludes with the late-night bun scramble competition. Islands District Councillor Kwok Wai-man told an RTHK programme on Tuesday that around 40,000 people flocked to this year's festival – down from 51,000 revellers last year. According to Sun Ferry, which operates the ferry service between Central and Cheung Chau, there were around 44,200 passenger trips as of 9pm on Monday – a 19 per cent drop from last year. The festival, said to date back to the 1800s, attracts both local residents and foreign tourists. The government downsized the scale of the festival in 2020 to 2022, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. It returned to full scale in 2023, attracting 43,000 people to the island. One of the festival's highlights was the Piu Sik, which translates as 'Floating Colours' – during which children in fancy dress are held up on towering poles and paraded through the winding streets of the outlying island. Traditionally, they dress up in satirical costumes mimicking top government officials and lawmakers. This year, some were spotted dressed as Finance Secretary Paul Chan. In the evening, the island held Cantonese opera performances for deities, known as 'Sun Kung Hei.' The festival culminated in a late-night scramble by competitors up a precipitous 18-metre 'bun tower' made from imitation buns. Around 1,650 spectators watched 12 finalists – nine men and three women – collect as many buns as possible within a three-minute time limit. Ice climber Janet Kung and firefighter Jason Kwok won the competition this year. Kwok, a 10-time champion, defended the 'Bun King' title, while Kung, a three-time winner, claimed the 'Bun Queen' title.
RTHK
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTHK
Olympians, Ne Zha feature in Cheung Chau bun fest
Olympians, Ne Zha feature in Cheung Chau bun fest Children dressed up as various characters, including Ne Zha, in this year's Piu Sik parade. Photo: AFP Tens of thousands of people on Monday flocked to Cheung Chau for the annual bun festival, as well as a parade where children dressed up as top athletes, movie characters and even government officials. To get the best spot, many of them had already arrived on the island hours before the Piu Sik parade – featuring about 20 floats – kicked off at 1.30pm. Children, who were held up on stilts and paraded through the Cheung Chau streets, dressed up as prominent figures ranging from Financial Secretary Paul Chan to snooker star Ronnie O'Sullivan – who recently become a Hong Kong resident. Ahead of the National Games in November, the young performers also personified diving queen Quan Hongchan and local fencing sensation Edgar Cheung. A child was also dressed up as Ne Zha, the titular character from the mainland blockbuster animation Ne Zha 2. Jakub, who moved to Hong Kong from the Middle East last August, was one of many who travelled to the outlying island for the parade. "We like the festival, we like old traditions, and it's quite [a] famous festival, so we would like to see it. It's amazing. It's great but the weather is too hot today. But it's great," he told RTHK. Earlier before noon, queues had already formed outside bakeries offering lucky buns stamped with peace messages. A shopkeeper told RTHK that business at his bakery, which sells the white lucky buns with pink lettering, surged 10 percent compared to last year, exceeding his expectations. "As we work in the retail and catering industries, we knew that consumption is weak," he said. "So we didn't expect sales to be as good as last year." But he noted that there were not many mainland tourists visiting the island for the festival despite the Labour Day Golden Week. He said they had only bought a couple of buns. A woman surnamed Zhou and her friend took the 8am ferry to Cheung Chau from Central to experience the bun festival. The pair came from Hangzhou to Hong Kong for work more than six months ago. "We heard that this cultural activity in Cheung Chau is very unique, and it's an intangible cultural heritage. So we want to experience this very local and traditional event in Hong Kong very much." Officiating the parade, Undersecretary for Home and Youth Affairs Clarence Leung said the annual bun festival can attract tourists to explore Hong Kong's unique culture. "This year's festival coincides with the Golden Week, which allows more tourists to see Cheung Chau during the long holiday and experience the bun festival," he said. Tourism minister Rosanna Law will officiate the traditional bun-scrambling competition at midnight. As of noon, about 12,300 people had travelled to Cheung Chau from Central, according to ferry operator Sun Ferry. That represents a fall of 10 percent compared to last year, it added. The company has arranged more than double the number of Cheung Chau-bound ferries, with up to five boats running every hour.
South China Morning Post
05-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
12,300 revellers brave heat for buns, fish balls, Ne Zha at Hong Kong Cheung Chau festival
More than 12,000 Hongkongers and tourists have flocked to Cheung Chau for the island's annual bun festival, and a parade featuring popular film characters and hot topics such as scams, with businesses expecting sales growth and overseas market expansions. Advertisement Revellers set out on their journeys early on Monday. Shortly before 9am, the Central pier announced that the fast ferry was fully boarded, as dozens of tourists waited there. Cheung Chau Bun Festival, also known as Cheung Chau Da Jiu Festival , falls each year on Buddha's Birthday. This year, the date coincided with the last day of the Labour Day 'golden week' holiday. Sun Ferry said that about 12,300 passengers boarded its ferries from Central to Cheung Chau between 8am and 12pm, noting a 9 per cent decrease compared with the same period last year. Advertisement 'Sun Ferry has deployed all available standby vessels to provide additional sailings, and the maximum hourly carrying capacity is over 200 per cent more than usual,' the operator said. Crowds lined the streets of the island to catch a glimpse of Piu Sik Parade, which kicked off at 1.30pm. Themes of this year's parade included Ne Zha, Southeast Asian scam compound 'KK Park' and the National Games.
South China Morning Post
09-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's first electric ferry service to run 3 days a week during non-rush hours
Hong Kong's first electric ferry is expected to run three days a week between North Point and Hung Hom or Kowloon City and can offer 52 single trips daily without recharging at full operation, environmental authorities have said. Advertisement Principal Environmental Protection Officer (Mobile Source) Benny So King-lung said on Wednesday that the HK$65 million (US$8.4 million) vessel, named Xin Ming Zhu XXXIX and operated by Sun Ferry Services Company, was undergoing a trial carrying passengers for four single trips on Monday, as it did on March 31, and would step up its service progressively. 'Passengers gave positive feedback … The journey is quiet and has no diesel smell,' So said. 'The ferry is made of carbon fibre, which is lighter than a steel ferry by 70 per cent. The lighter weight can save the power needed and is more environmentally friendly.' The battery unit of Sun Ferry's Xin Ming Zhu XXXIX, Hong Kong's first electric passenger ferry. Photo: Eugene Lee He added that the electric vessel would carry passengers during non-rush hours and soon step up its service to three days a week. So did not indicate when it would go into full operation. Advertisement Equipped with 360 sets of batteries, the ferry can run 52 single trips daily at full operation and will only need to charge overnight for eight to 10 hours at North Point, he said.
