A Float for the “Piu Sik” or “Floating Colours” Parade

“Piu Sik” or “Floating Colours” Parade, is one of the highlights of the Cheung Chau Jiao Festival and an activity that the islanders participated with enthusiasm and gusto.

Its history is said to date back to the early 1920s, when two of the kaifong associations on Cheung Chau Island introduced floats made in Foshan, Guangdong to the street parades. Other kaifong associations soon followed suit, and the increasing number of floats added to the festive colours of the occasion.

Today, the kaifong associations would try to come up with unique ideas in creating the figures for the floats. Young children would be dressed up to represent iconic figures from Chinese history, folklore, or news stories of the day. They would be securely placed on top of hidden supports to make them look like “floating in mid-air” as they are held up in the carnival-like procession, thus adding a tinge of satire or social commentary to the festival.