A DOZEN people in Hong Kong scrambled up a steel tower covered in buns today, reviving a religious ritual banned 26 years ago when the former British colonial Government declared it too dangerous.

A similar tower constructed out of bamboo collapsed in 1978, injuring over 100 climbers and onlookers, but the Government allowed the tradition to be resurrected this year in a bid to lure visitors to Hong Kong's colourful islands.

The event on Hong Kong's fishing island of Cheung Chau commemorates islanders who died in a bubonic plague in the 19th century. The sweet buns were supposed to cure all illnesses.

Bun tower a hit in Hong Kong, continued