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Cheung Chau boasts several interesting temples, the most important being Pak Tai Temple, which hosts the annual Bun Festival: the red-letter day on Cheung Chau (see boxed text, below). The island has a few worthwhile beaches, and there are some relatively easy walks, including the one described on Click here. When Canton (present-day Guangzhou) and Macau opened up to the West in the 16th century, Cheung Chau was a perfect base from which to prey on passing ships. The infamous and powerful 18th-century pirate Cheung Po Tsai is said to have had his base here, and you can still visit the cave where he supposedly stashed his booty at the southwestern tip of the island.

Cheung Chau village, where the ferry docks, is the only real settlement on the island. There is an HSBC ( 2981 1127; Lot 1116, Praya St) branch southeast of the cargo pier, and an ATM (19A Pak She Praya Rd) north of the ferry pier. The post office (2A Tai Hing Tai Rd) is in the market complex. The market ( 8.30am-5pm) is a hive of activity, with meat and fish being sold on the ground floor and a variety of other goods upstairs.

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CHEUNG CHAU’S BUN FESTIVAL

The annual Bun Festival (Tàai-pàng chìng jiu in Cantonese; www.cheungchau.org), which honours the god Pak Tai and is unique to the island, takes place over eight days in late April or early May, traditionally starting on the sixth day of the fourth moon. It is a Taoist festival, and there are four days of religious observances.

The festival is renowned for its bun towers: bamboo scaffolding up to 20m high that are covered with sacred rolls. If you visit Cheung Chau a week or so before the festival, you’ll see the towers being built in front of Pak Tai Temple.

In the past, hundreds of people would scramble up the towers at midnight on the designated day to grab one of the buns for good luck. The higher the bun, the greater the luck, so everyone tried to reach the top. In 1978 a tower collapsed under the weight of the climbers, injuring two dozen people. Now everyone must remain on terra firma and the buns are handed out.

Sunday, the third day of the festival, features a procession of floats, stilt walkers and people dressed as characters from Chinese legends and opera. Most interesting are the colourfully dressed ‘floating children’ who are carried through the streets on long poles, cleverly wired to metal supports hidden under their clothing. The supports include footrests and a padded seat.

Offerings are made to the spirits of all the fish and livestock killed and consumed over the previous year. A priest reads out a decree calling on the villagers to abstain from killing any animals during the four-day festival, and no meat is consumed.

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CHEUNG CHAU

PAK TAI TEMPLE Map

2981 0663; Pak She Fourth Lane; 7am-5pm; Cheung Chau

This colourful and recently restored temple from 1783 is the oldest on the island and is the focus of the annual Cheung Chau Bun Festival (see the boxed text) in late April or early May. It is dedicated to the Taoist deity Pak Tai, the ‘Supreme Emperor of the Dark Heaven’, military protector of the state, guardian of peace and order, and protector of fisherfolk. Legend tells that early settlers from Guangdong province brought an image of Pak Tai with them to Cheung Chau and, when the statue was carried through the village, Cheung Chau was spared the plague that had decimated the populations of nearby islands. A temple dedicated to the saviour was built six years later.

BEACHES Map

Cheung Chau

Tung Wan beach, Cheung Chau’s longest and most popular beach (though not its prettiest), lies at the end of Tung Wan Rd, due east of the ferry pier. The best part of Tung Wan is the far southern end, which is a great area for windsurfing. Just south of Tung Wan beach, Kwun Yam Wan beach is known to English speakers as Afternoon Beach and is a great spot for windsurfing.

Windsurfing has always been an extremely popular pastime on Cheung Chau, and Hong Kong’s