The mighty bamboo🎋
And the preservation of cultural heritage
Hi, I’m Sarah! The Best of Intentions is an independent publication about life in Hong Kong, work, travel, culture, health/fitness, photography, along with a sprinkle of psychology. If you like this post, consider liking or sharing it. If you are a regular reader please consider subscribing to receive updates and support my writing.
One of my favourite things that I encounter in the streets of Hong Kong is bamboo scaffolding. You are walking around a corner and bam (!) you are faced with a building covered in the stuff. Sometimes, the delicate latticing combined with the varied colours of the accompanying netting reminds me of the topping of a pie.
Bamboo accounts for approximately 80% of scaffolding in construction projects across the territory, and this is primarily due to the nature of the city. The flexibility of bamboo and the speed at which workers are able to set up and dismantle the scaffolding makes the material ideal when space is tight. And if you have ever visited Hong Kong, you will know that space can be very tight!
But I was saddened to see in the press last week that the government has decided to phase out the use of bamboo in favour of metal scaffolding.
The justification for this change is to increase the safety of the workers. A very good reason! But I do hope that there are opportunities for its continued use in some projects, and that there are plans put in place to help preserve the skills and craft involved. Sadly, I am not feeling optimistic about this.
So, here are a few images where I thought that I would let the bamboo and the constructions workers do the talking:
Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah
It’s not often that provide supplementary reading to accompany my posts, but if you are interested in learning more about bamboo scaffolding, then here are some useful links:
My cynical mind has to wonder why it took so long for “safety” to be the deciding factor… or is it the influence of an industry that may need a boost due to world events? Just a thought.
I'm having one of those "who knew?" moments. I've probably seen this bamboo scaffolding on my travels and didn't register. Safety first, of course, but it seems like something more is being lost, as if the curtains are being drawn on the last window to a bygone era.