Cheung Chau Bun Festival Hong Kong 2027: The Festival, 10 to 14 May

Cheung Chau’s Bun Festival runs from Monday 10 to Friday 14 May 2027, five days of bun towers, Taoist ceremony and vegetarian food on a small island southwest of Hong Kong Island. The main day is Thursday 13 May, the parade day, which is also the gazetted Birthday of the Buddha.

Most visitors come for that fourth day: the Piu Sik parade, where costumed children appear to float above the crowd, and the midnight bun scrambling competition. Plan the island day early, because the ferries carry the crowds.

The festival marks the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, the same day as the Birthday of the Buddha. It is a Taoist festival, not a Buddhist one: local tradition holds that the image of Pak Tai, god of the North and patron of fishermen, was paraded through the village and drove off a plague.

Three large bun towers, built from bamboo and covered with lucky steamed buns, stand outside Pak Tai Temple, and they give the festival its name. On the first days, visitors eat vegetarian food, see the bun towers and watch dragon dances and opera performances around the temple. Only vegetarian food is eaten until the parade passes on the fourth day.

Parade day, Thursday 13 May, is the public holiday and the day the island fills. The parade runs from Pak Tai Temple around the village and back, led by the image of Pak Tai, with lion dances, drums and the children’s floats, each holding costumed children in balancing poses. The bun scrambling competition runs at midnight, for registered participants only, and visitors watch up close. Ferries run from Central Pier 5, frequently but crowded, so travel early and expect queues both ways.

Land first, then treat Cheung Chau as a day trip from a Hong Kong base: the festival source puts the ferry at Central Pier 5, so ride into Central or Tsim Sha Tsui on arrival and take the ferry on the day. See our Hong Kong Airport to Central transfer guide for every airport option, priced and compared.

For a Splurge, The Peninsula Hong Kong, at 22 Salisbury Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, is the grande dame of the harbour since 1928, with afternoon tea, a fleet of green Rolls-Royces and harbour view rooms. For Sweet spot, Cordis, Hong Kong, at 555 Shanghai Street in Mong Kok, is a sharp, well run tower above the Langham Place mall and Mong Kok MTR, with markets, food and transit on the doorstep. For Budget, The Salisbury, YMCA, at 41 Salisbury Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, has harbour view rooms at a fraction of the price next door, steps from the Star Ferry pier.

Stay on Hong Kong Island or in Tsim Sha Tsui and day trip to Cheung Chau, rather than hunting for island rooms in festival week, when accommodation fills early. For getting back to the airport, the Airport Express offers free in-town check-in at Hong Kong and Kowloon stations, so departure day starts in the city, unloaded.

Get connected before you fly: the guide names an Airalo eSIM for Hong Kong, with Saily as a solid backup, and Hong Kong has no Great Firewall, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram all work normally.

Pick up an Octopus card at the airport. It pays for the MTR, buses, ferries and trams, and most convenience stores and fast food counters. Cards and contactless work widely, but withdraw some Hong Kong dollars for markets, dai pai dongs and minibuses, where cash still rules. Hotels add a 3 percent Hotel Accommodation Tax at checkout.

For a first meal, head for the nearest dim sum or wonton noodle shop: the guide sends you to Tim Ho Wan for the baked barbecue pork buns, or to Mak’s Noodle in Central for springy egg noodles and shrimp wontons. Book Victoria Peak tram tickets ahead, as the guide directs, to skip the ticket line, and ride the Star Ferry across the harbour before you do anything ambitious.

The Bun Festival is Hong Kong at its most local: a working island festival that visitors are welcomed into, provided they come early and eat vegetarian until the parade passes. Browse the events calendar for what else is on while you are in town, and use plan your trip to line up the days around it.